Of Shadow, Shine And Shades
by dra6on
Summary: Attempting to erase his memory, Lord Harry James Potter-Black actually ends up sending himself through time and dimension into another world. What is a mage to do when he's offered a second chance? AU, dimension and time travel, slash, HPSS
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and no money is made with this.

* * *

OF SHADOW, SHINE AND SHADES by dra6on

Prologue

Lord Harry James Potter-Black, the Boy-Who-Lived, the Chosen One, the Saviour, the Man-Who-Prevails, the Defeater of Dark Lords Voldemort and Apophis, Master of Deathly Hallows, Deputy Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Supreme Mugwump and OPIRMA – Outrageously Powerful Internationally Recognized MAge – stood in the middle of his living room and stared at the clock mounted on the wall. There really was nothing interesting about the clock itself. It was quite new, a present received two years previously, and it really wasn't anything special. The hour and minute hands ticked forward passing over Roman numbers. Nothing magical about it either. No sudden announcements at even hours – though it did chime – or shooting sparks at half past... And it really didn't need those properties for the purpose the young man needed it for.

He was waiting for the clock to strike midnight. It was December 21st and he'd decided to use the power of Winter Solstice for his own purpose. But, no matter how he hoped the time would speed up, the clock was still only ticking at six minutes till twelve. He cast a glance around the room no longer even trying to ignore the shattering pangs of pain, loss and longing he felt when he cast his eyes on the familiar furniture. If everything went well he would never feel them again.

His eyes fell on the wizarding photos on the walls and the pain grew tenfold. He was slowly dying, being tortured by memories of happiness he'd never feel again. The sorrow, the agony, was clawing him from the inside and the wounds were not healing. He closed his tearing eyes and clenched the Staff in his hand. He could no longer just go about his life. If he was honest, he hadn't been able to for a year.

Not since his lover died.

Oh, he had tried. After spending almost four weeks in a near catatonic state he'd gotten up and done his duties. He'd taught his classes, performed the Deputy Headmaster's – he'd absolutely refused to take his lover's former position – responsibilities, upheld his image as Lord Potter-Black, Supreme Mugwump and OPIRMA and helped with the aftermath of Chaos War to the best of his abilities. He had been needed and he'd pushed aside his personal agony to answer the expectations of the world. But when the wizard had returned to the empty house at night, he'd merely sat in darkness, only passing out when the exhaustion became too much. Glamours had been his constant friends this past year.

But he knew he couldn't go on like this anymore. He was too spent. He had no will to live, nothing to fill his empty life.

And what kind of life was that?

Still, he couldn't just kill himself or run away. He was too self-sacrificing, too caring. Just like... Just like _he_'d always said he was.

How he missed his lover's voice.

The tears fell on his cheeks and he blinked most of them away to see the time. Two minutes. He looked around, again briefly wondering if everything would look different afterwards. If everything went right his feelings and memories should become dimmed but would not disappear.

"I'm sorry," Harry whispered, tasting the salt of his tears. "I love you. I'll always love you. But you wouldn't want me to disappear, and the only way to continue existing is through oblivion. Forgive me, Severus. I miss you so much."

It was the first time he'd said his lover's name since his sacrifice and the agony of letting his lips form the loved name was too much to bear. He raised his Staff, the green jewel embedded into it illuminating the room with its familiar green light as the clock started to chime. The young mage whispered: "Detergeo memoria. Maritus et morsus. Ut obliviscor, permitto oblivio. Ut emendo, tenebresco sensus."

The green light intensified and gathered around the young mage that had closed his eyes in expectation and acceptance. The twelfth chime broke and Harry James Potter-Black vanished, gone for eternity.

From this world.

A/N: I will post the warnings etc. in the first proper chapter. Oh, and I know no Latin and am just putting words together so bear with me. First published fic.


	2. Pain in the Beginning

So... first published fic.

Notes and Warnings: This story is SLASH and Harry/Severus (though this Harry is from another dimension) and will feature young Harry as well as other canon members. Explicit sexual and violent situations will be included and child abuse and paedophilia implied, though I'm most likely to create an account at AFF and publish unrated versions there (& will provide links). Manipulative Dumbledore and slight OOC-ness (cause their experiences are different) and suspense. There will also be a couple important and semi-important OCs. More general information from my account site.

The summary also changed because with the routes my mind is taking with this story I can't with good conscience call my world canon. So the story is completely AU though I try not to cross any solid facts about canon. Feel free to speak your mind if you find something bugging you.

The updates will come at the end of every week. I try to put them up on Fridays but due to some trouble with the Internet connection I've been experiencing and school and work I can't ever be sure when I'll have time to write and update. But one chapter per week usually and I'll let you know if I can't update for a while.

Thanks for all the reviews my less than a 1000 word prologue received!

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and no money is made with this.

* * *

**Be warned: Magical torment**

* * *

OF SHADOW, SHINE AND SHADES by dra6on

Chapter 1. Pain in the Beginning

Harry woke up feeling like he'd been _crucio_ed a dozen times, his arms and legs broken, ribcage crushed, organs squeezed through a colander and his head flattened by a boulder.

He had rarely felt so bad in his life. And he'd been through some excruciatingly painful moments in the past.

The young mage simply lay on the ground, groaning and gritting his teeth to the point they were about to break. He wouldn't scream. Screaming would do no good in his position. But he couldn't move, it hurt too much, and even his thoughts were slow from the pain he'd awoken to. At least he was still holding his Mage's Staff and could feel the other magical artefacts on his person.

Holding his breath the young man reached for his magic hoping to use it to ease his agony and this time he couldn't hold in the scream that tore through his throat into the surrounding darkness. The chaos! Utter _chaos_ had taken control of his magic and even his shields, woven through years of concentration and meditation, were beginning to give in. Knowing he'd regret this later, and briefly wondering if he'd finally go crazy of all the pain, Harry flung himself into the centre of his magic and mind. He had a second of lucidity after which the world dissolved into war and chaos and battle for control. His magic was fighting him – almost as if it did not recognize him – and Harry fought back despite the tormenting agony he was experiencing. The young man was vaguely aware of the screams that were escaping from him but inside his mind and among the pain the outside world and screaming lost their importance. The pain, the battle, the chaos... he could not concentrate on anything else.

The mage fought with every inch of strength he had in him. He was willing the magic to trust him, to _remember _him, but it wasn't listening. His immense power was working itself into a storm that when Harry would finally tire and retreat – and at this rate it would happen soon – the magic would release itself from his body and tore into the world like a hurricane of destruction. Even in his current state the declared Saviour knew he could never let that happen. He couldn't let his magic hurt innocent bystanders.

His magical core was starting to rip itself apart and the boundaries of his mind had nearly disappeared into the chaotic storm raging inside him. Just few more seconds and he would literally lose both his mind and magic and then nothing would stop the storm from being released. An insane squib could do nothing to help. And that was his only reason for living anymore, right?

In desperation Harry flung his consciousness towards the Living Emerald on his mage's Staff. He was connected – bonded – to it, and it had protected him in the past. The jewel had a will of its own and power of the Earth, accumulated during all the millennia it had spent in the pressure in the bedrock, smothered by the Earth's natural magic. This magic he now trusted to help and save him when he himself was powerless.

Harry let go.

The world turned green. Rumbling echoed in Harry's ears as the magic in the Emerald answered him and washed through his mind and magical core, bringing order into the chaos. It flowed through his body, forcing his tortured limbs and organs past their limits and shaping them to its pleasure, using his veins and arteries as conduits for magic, making it feel like molten fire was coursing through them. Had the tortured man had even a shred of sense left in him he might have wondered what kind of being the Emerald was turning him into. As it was, nothing could reach him in the world of green and earthy power, nerve-racking torment and ear-drum blowing rumbling.

The young man screamed, unable to hold the pain inside. His cries echoed in the cold December night until – mercifully – darkness lay claim on him.

oooOOOooo

The morning sun's first rays were what the ruffled mage woke up to. It was freezing – _he was freezing – _and a thin layer of snow coated the earth. How he was still alive, Harry could not understand. He tried to move his battered body but the pain was great enough to draw a whimper out of him. He blinked away tears, focusing on the Staff pulsing under his left hand. He was almost afraid to reach for his magic but he wasn't a Gryffindor for nothing.

He nearly broke down in tears when the warmth filled him and assured him with its familiarity. It was slightly different but recognizable still. The magic of the Emerald had interwoven with his and it was thrumming happily within him, the steady power of the Emerald now completely his, not only connected to him and at his use but _his._

_Well, this is a development_, thought Harry distractedly.

Bracing himself for the pain he craned his neck to take a look around. It was a clear winter morning and he was in the middle of a small clearing surrounded by pine trees. They were frosted with snow and the sight was magical even to the tortured Lord.

Magical and familiar.

_Oh, hell._

_No bloody fucking way._

His neck gave painful twinges as he tried to take a look in every direction. Suspicions confirmed, an involuntary chuckle managed to escape his pursed lips. The man bit his lower lip in an attempt to keep the laughter inside – it would only cause him to hurt even more – and glanced at the Emerald. It was glowing faintly and, apparently sensing his eyes on it, gave out a flash of deep forest green instead of its normal green shade.

"Y-" Harry had to cough and swallow a few times to make use of his voice. His throat was raw from all the screaming but it was not like he was a stranger to this kind of pain. His nightmares had pretty much taught him to ignore sore morning throats. Giving it another try, he whispered: "You think this is funny? Wait till..." He swallowed again, painfully. "When Nicolas hears about this, he's gonna finally die. Of laughter."

The bloody jewel _twinkled_ at him.

Well, maybe he deserved it. It wasn't every day a wizard _Vanished_ his _house._ While attempting a memory charm, no less.

It was hilarious. Pathetic, but hilarious. Even he could admit it. It, however, didn't make it any less painful.

After an agonizing ten minutes the man had managed to drag his body into a sitting position. His shirt was wet with sweat and his breathing had turned into panting at the first movement. While sending a Patronus to fetch help might have been the best option, Harry really did not fancy being found in such a helpless state. He still had enemies that would jump at such a chance at getting him, not to mention the press that would anyway have a field day when they found out about what he'd done to his house.

Blaming it entirely on his Gryffindor side – as he usually did with these stupid stunts – the mage, already wincing in anticipation of the pain, took a deep breath and Dissapparated with a boom any mortar would have been proud to produce and that woke the sleeping creatures in a mile radius.

He appeared in his bedroom at the Grimmauld Place 12 accompanied with a loud crack that sounded as if a cliff had broken off a mountain side. And he appeared in his bedroom three feet above his bed, disrupting a cloud of dust into the air as he crashed down on the said bed. In his confused state Harry took a deep breath to clear his mind from the pain Apparating had caused and dissolved into a sneezing fit that sent paralyzing jolts of agony along his spine.

The Staff still in his left hand he thrust it in the air and groaned between sneezes: "_Clean._"

The dust vanished and finally he was able to _breathe_ again. Ignoring the pain he focused only on taking big gulps of air and calming his racing heart. _This,_ Harry decided swallowing against the threatening tears, _cannot be healthy._

Eventually he calmed down enough to be angry at whoever had played this prank at him – not that he could do anything about it at the moment. But oh, wait till he got some rest. Teddy and Mike would be so screwed.

Procuring three vials from his belt he chunked them all down in quick succession and immediately felt better. There went his strongest healing, relaxing and pain-relieving potions but with the holiday season he had time to brew more. After the revenge.

Putting up his usual wards and shields around the room, Harry sank into a deep meditative state where he could slowly direct his magic to where it was most needed to boost up the healing properties of the potions. It was a simple technique an Australian medicine man had taught him years ago and sometimes he simply used it to rest. Especially after nightmares during the war. This last year he'd kept himself too exhausted to dream, and it wasn't as if he deserved to rest.

But the same thing was true about meditation as it was about riding a bike – once you knew how you didn't forget. So three hours later it was a slightly aching but otherwise healed man that slowly drifted to the real world from his mind and magic. As he blinked his eyes open he realized for the first time just how dark it was in his bedroom. He wandlessly drew open the thick, long curtains that had been drawn to block the light and stretched luxuriously while wondering if Kreacher had already prepared lunch. It was impossible for his arrival to have gone unnoticed. Hell, the muggles had probably been calling the police all morning about that crack.

Ruffling his hair the mage slung his legs over the edge of the bed and got up, finally getting a good look at his surroundings.

He blinked at the sight.

Then he closed his eyes, counted to ten and opened them again. When the sight wasn't disappearing even after rubbing his eyes he had to admit something was definitely _wrong_.

And not wrong as in a prank – as he'd thought earlier – but something entirely different. Teddy and Mike were good but this was far too complex for seven and nine year old children. And Fred and George had been tiptoeing around him for a year already and, unless this was some sort of tasteless and unimaginative comeback after a year of peace – which he doubted – there was no way the twins would do this to him.

The room was exactly as he remembered. Dark and musty, check. Obscure artefacts and paintings, check. Tasteless colouring and furniture, check. It was as if he'd never redecorated the room. The only thing connecting it to _his _chamber was the old Hunting tapestry that he'd kept on the wall after restoring it. Now it hung low on a _different _wall, one side folded and colours faded. And the curtains... They were not the familiar dark green but _purple_.

He hated purple almost as much as he hated red.

Tightly controlling his breathing the Lord again shut his eyes, erratic thoughts crashing against his skull. _This is all a bad dream. Bad, BAD dream, figment of my imagination, brought out by all that pain. Hey! Maybe I went finally crazy from all the pain! _Not really encouraging but a better option than the ones he was forcefully keeping at the back of his mind.

Just to be sure he pinched himself and reached into his mind, checking all the shields and boundaries. Every one of them seemed fine, if a bit shaken after last night's fiasco. It would take more meditation to put them back to rights and at the moment Harry couldn't care less.

He was pretty sure he'd have some sort of warning of going crazy what with being an Occlumens and all, so that theory was pretty much bogus. And if he hadn't lost his mind during all the torture when captured, he sure as hell wouldn't lose it over a failed spell!

The spell. The young man opened his eyes and cast a hopeless glance around. Had _he _caused this? He had Vanished his house after all, maybe his magic had somehow warped the reality to resemble his memories? It had after all been only 18 months since he'd changed the furniture.

Then how did his house and all the dust come about? And where the bloody hell was Kreacher?

Smacking himself on the forehead Harry took down the warding in the room with a flick of his left wrist. His body tingled as the magic flowed _back _into his body instead of simply disappearing. He had to grab a hold of the night table to stay upright during the rush. What was that?

_I don't know how many more surprises I can take. _

The thought was slightly desperate but not surprising. Even after rest Harry felt _stretched thin._ His mind would need time to recover from the pain, and these continuous new things that kept occurring were not giving him time to acclimate to the already existing changes.

A soft pop announced the arrival of Kreacher and the mage looked up, relieved to finally see someone familiar. However, the words died in his mouth as he took in the appearance of the ancient house elf.

Kreacher not only looked old but compared to when Harry had last seen him he actually looked half-dead. His skin was hanging around his bones and it was of an unhealthy grey colour. His normally big eyes were in drawn in slits, a nowadays rare scowl on his face and more than anything he was _filthy_. Dust coated the top of his head and his pitiful outfit that might have long ago been a pillowcase. Old stains marked his arms and his bare feet were covered in dust bunnies, making it actually look as if he was wearing tiny greyish bootees. For all purposes the creature looked as though he'd been laying on his deathbed for years and had now dragged himself to see who dared to disturb his dying.

"Kreacher?" Harry could care less if his voice shook. The initial worry over his servant also pushed back the doubts and suspicions and drew his mind to present. In two strides he was beside the house elf and kneeled to take a better look. "Are you all right? You look awful! Who did this to you? Do I need to get you to a Healer?" Without thinking he reached to grasp Kreacher's wrist – a familiar gesture for them both – only to have the elf backpedal fearfully. The mage could see mistrust evident in his every movement and a small part of his heart clenched in pain.

"Kreacher?" He did not try to approach, already catching up to the situation with his mind.

"You..." The elf eyed him disdainfully. "You is Master?"

Harry stared. Had the elf lost his memory? No, he hadn't. The young man looked around indiscreetly, different theories popping up one after another in his overworked brains as the differences compared to before fully registered. His eyes were drawn back at the house elf as he spoke again,

"The blood traitor is dead? You is... is too young to be traitor's son. Who is you?" The elf raised a finger threateningly and though Harry knew the elf could not harm him he raised his arms in peace offering while wondering who the hell the elf was talking about. Nothing in the creature's questions connected with his knowledge of history and this only served to spring more questions and theories into his mind.

Going with his strongest theory, he asked: "What day is it, Kreacher?" Harry kept his voice soft and calming, his wartime practicality stepping in to prevent a full blown panic attack from taking over.

"...Weekend." Kreacher seemed surprised at the answer coming out of his mouth then half-smirked, the expression clearing half of his face free of wrinkles. Harry sighed in exasperation. Getting answers would not be easy even with the whole must-answer-masters-when-asked-a-direct-question-thing the house elves got going on.

"What _date_ is it?"

"Kreacher does not know."

Oh, this was getting so _difficult_. All he wanted to know was if he'd travelled back in time by some mystery quirk in the memory spell and everything seemed to be against him. Knowing that in Kreacher's current condition – though feeling slightly guilty about sending the half-dead elf out – only direct orders worked, Harry ordered: "Kreacher, go to Diagon Alley and buy me today's newspaper. Then go to Leaky Cauldron, order today's special to go, wait for it to be ready and then return here with the paper and the food." He gathered his thoughts and added: "Also buy a bottle of firewhiskey from the Leaky Cauldron and bring it here. You are not to open the bottle not break it, alter the newspaper or open the food packages."

The young mage reached for his money pouch on his belt – currently holding half of Potter and Black monetary fortunes – and retrieved a handful of glittering gold, silver and bronze coins. He conjured wandlessly a small bag to put the money into. Holding the bag on his hand out to the elf that stared at him, obviously struggling to not obey the direct order, Harry continued, "You are to return as quickly as possible and bring the items to the master bathroom to me. You will use this money _only _to buy what I've specified and use it_ only_ on my orders.

"Be quick about it."

With that he thrust the bag to the elf and moved to one of the two doors leading out of the bedchamber. He opened it just as he heard the soft crack announcing Kreacher's departure, the creature leaving just in time not to witness the mighty groan Harry elicited at the sight of the bathroom.

Just like his bedroom had been yesterday, the bathroom was covered in dust and on top of that the bathtub looked like it had never been cleaned and rust coated the water pipes. It was one of those moments that Harry thanked the universe for giving him the gift of magic. Not that living under the same roof with Aunt Petunia hadn't taught him the ways to clean in the muggle way but magic took so much less time and energy.

Three minutes of wandless _Scourgifies_ and _Tergeos _left the bathroom at the least in a decent condition and the tub usable. He'd left the cabinets alone after sensing some magic in them that he did not want to disturb. Starting to strip his clothing and weapons on the floor while an _A__guamenti _filled the tub, the mage wondered how he'd get himself out of this mess. If he _was_ crazy there would be nothing he could do about it but...

But if he per chance _wasn't_... And this all _was_ real...

He wouldn't know whether to cry or laugh.

Pushing away the implications that line of though brought into his mind, the tired wizard poured healing, muscle-relaxing and calming potions into the water, giving it a bluish tinge. He'd already used his strongest potions before meditation but these would prevent long-term effects the torture could have on his body. He'd also put aside a Pepper-Up potion for Kreacher. It would have to be diluted because house elf body absorbed foreign substances much better than human bodies did. Like drinking butterbeer had elves slurring after a bottle. Wincing at one particularly nauseating memory involving Dobby the Free Elf, bunnies and butterbeer, Harry really had to wonder about his sanity if he was thinking about drunken elves in such a situation. For the sake of his peace of mind the man pinched his arm again but did not wake up. Not that he'd actually expected to. And he was certain that this world he'd woken up to wasn't an illusion because only a stronger mage could trap Harry in his mind without serious repercussions. Apophis had learned that little fact through the hard way.

A simple heating charm on the water and soon Harry was soaking in. It felt _heavenly_, and for many minutes he merely concentrated on the tension leaving his body and the last remaining aches disappearing. Lazily tracing the tribal patterns on his right arm and up to his face, Harry couldn't help but concentrate the significance of the tattoo that covered his back and right arm and on the front reaching all the way down to his navel instead of his current situation. The lines swirled over his throat touching his right cheek and finally encircling his eyes and spiralling on his forehead.

The tattoo was the marking of a mage. He'd received it when he had touched the Living Emerald for the first time and nothing could erase it. And only muggle make-up could hide it – that was how he had been always covering it. The reason for hiding it was difficult for an outsider to understand. To Harry the tattoo was personal, a sign of acceptance the magic had granted him as someone special. It had absorbed his lightning bolt scar, made it part of the pattern, and thus given him more personal space than he could ever have gained otherwise. But it also would have drawn even more looks and unwanted attention than his old scar so when he'd killed Voldemort and the Emerald had come to him the next night, he'd took the chance to hide a part of him away from the public's curious eyes. Questions were thwarted by a simple lie that his scar had vanished with Voldemort's destruction, as it in a way had.

Ironic. Voldemort was killed and thus proving himself worthy of power Harry had to result in using make-up for the rest of his life.

And what a crazy life it was and had been.

The wizard reached up and released his long hair from the leather strap, letting his raven black wavy locks fall on his shoulders. Who'd known the way to tame his hair was to let it grow? It had been at first a challenge issued by... by _Sev_ because Harry honestly hadn't understood the reason for long hair. So his very own Potions Master had brewed him a hair-growing potion to take before bed and in the morning the result had been astounding.

_One of the few times I caught him wordless_, Harry remembered fondly. He expected the now familiar pain to settle into his heart and soul but, for some mysterious reason, it stayed absent. _Maybe the spell did work... with additions._

Not really wanting to go into how much of a wreck he truly was, the man dipped his head underwater. If this crisis had one positive side then it was that he'd been shocked out of his depression. But maybe he was just too much in shock to be feeling like it right now, and when the shock relinquished its hold he would drop back into the black pit of hopelessness. _But if this is the past..._

"Don't even go there," he ordered himself angrily, pushing the irrelevant thought aside. First proof.

Or else he'd go insane with all the "what-ifs" pounding against his skull.

For a while Harry simply ran his hand through the locks. It would be impossible for Kreacher to lie to him and when he asked for today's paper, it would be today's paper that he received. No getting around a direct order but the wizard sincerely hoped he found a way to restore Kreacher's memory or a quicker way to win the elf on his side. It had taken him three years of bonding to get the creature to trust him and he didn't fancy going through that again. It wasn't that he didn't like the house elf – he did, Kreacher's attitude towards him was (had been?) almost refreshing – but Kreacher was also one who'd always been there to support him no matter what because he was the elf's master. And Harry knew he treated the servant with respect that deserved undying loyalty. Which had now been replaced with mistrust and dislike.

His eyes landed on his clothing and with swish of his hand everything had been sent to the non-place. All except for the Staff that had shortened and was hovering in the air within his reach. As he watched the Emerald now began to glow the usual green that was the same colour as his eyes. Tilting his head in wonder at the display the mage again distracted himself by pondering on the familiar enigma of his Staff. He'd spent days after days just holding it, familiarizing himself with it, trying to understand it. It felt tough to touch but moulded itself to his hand. The Staff changed its length at his command but also sometimes for no apparent reason at all. And while Harry most of the time kept the Staff in the non-place where it could not be reached by anyone else, it was capable of coming and going as pleased it.

The Living Emerald was sentient; there was no question about that. Of course it could not talk but Harry had gotten pretty good at interpreting the meaning behind different glows, shines, twinkles, glimmers, gleams, flares and glittering – kind of like light signals. During the past year the Emerald had truly been the only one to see the true extent of his pain. Everyone had known that he took Severus' death hard, but even those who had known about the real nature of their relationship couldn't understand that Harry had felt like his soul and heart had split in two and the wound was slowly bleeding him dry every day since his partner in life had been killed.

It was that knowledge – knowledge of his own death closing in – that had had him try the spell usually practised in psychological treatment to trauma patients for them to process their experiences. Only Harry had meant to make it permanent and thus changed the wording a bit. That was probably what had caused this entire situation.

_But maybe the spell _did _work on its own way. Giving me a challenge, something else to concentrate on... Giving me another chance at life? An opportunity to heal from a wound no visible magic could heal? Or then I'm just the worst mage in all the universes._

A crack sounded close to his left and before Harry's brains could really catch up with his instincts he had the Staff in his hand and Kreacher pinned under his knee, the green glow of the Emerald twisting his face into a grotesque mask. The wizard could feel the brittle bones of the elf cracking under the pressure and jumped backwards, crouching so that his nakedness was not as evident. Not that he minded _his Kreacher_ seeing him without clothing and all his scars and marking revealed to the world, but this wasn't the same Kreacher he'd been honoured to know. Or at least not yet. Or never would be. Or had the _chance _to be.

Cursing his flinging thoughts and knowing he needed real sleep desperately, Harry concentrated on the house elf that had sat up on the black tile floor. _Constant vigilance_ was flashing across his thoughts with bright neon letters and he really wanted to scold himself for being so careless.

"You will always appear at least five feet away from me if it is possible." Harry's voice was tight and commanding. He was dangerous and something just suddenly popping within his reach could easily fall victim to his instincts. "Leave the items on the floor and go clean the kitchen. Now."

The house elf didn't even bother to rise to his feet before disappearing in a noticeable pop that in itself was enough evidence of how shaken it really was. Sighing in frustration the mage Vanished the water from the floor where it had splashed along his quick exit from the tub and stood up to his full height at 5'10. He caught his reflection from the mirror and, Kreacher's bringings momentarily forgotten, he could only stare.

He had not noticed it in the bath but the tattoo had changed. Earlier it had looked like grey lines drawn on his skin. Harry had always though the grey signified his neutrality. Not pure white and Light but not black and Dark either. Grey was not exactly an area of magic but it was the closest Harry could recognize himself as. But now... Now the tattoo had changed. Even it had not stayed the same.

Instead of the dark grey colour, the tattoo now looked like purest silver melted right into his skin. As Harry moved the tattoo shone in the dim light as if it had been polished. To touch it did not feel different but it sure as hell looked like it.

_I have to hide this_, Harry immediately decided and then proceeded to feel a pang of regret at the thought. The tattoo was beautiful, and it did not seem fair to hide such a piece of art from the world. But it was _his_ piece of art and part of him. Following the swirls over his right shoulder with a finger, the mage grimaced and shook his head. He was so easily distracted when tired. While this change was significant and he would look into it, there was the little problem of _reality changing_ _as well_ and it took precedence. The tattoo posed no apparent threat while the current situation...

Giving the food and whiskey one look before reaching down and picking the paper up, the tired man sat on the edge of the bathtub and shook the paper open.

First his eyes were drawn to the name of the paper. Daily Prophet. While it was true that during the last year he really had not followed the news as much as he should have, he probably would have noticed if _Daily Scroll_ changed its name. Prophet really sounded pretentious and even the unimaginative "Scroll" was better.

His throat drying but determined to keep reading the young man looked at the date. December 23rd.

_Huh? Where did 22nd go?_ Then the mage's eyes fell on the year and all thoughts about missing a day of his life vanished into the shock that settled in.

1990.

The wizard bent over and grabbed his knees in an attempt to stop the dizzying sensation that was trying to take over. He'd already realized that this probably was the past so why was it such a big deal to have it confirmed?

_Because it's black on white now, not just a strong suspicion. There really isn't a chance of this being just a prank... Or even the past. Kreacher would not be able to bring me a forged paper._

Looking at the grumbled newspaper the young man collected yet again the pieces of his scattered thoughts and pulled them together. He would so much rather been meditating and healing his damaged mind but he _needed _to know. He could not concentrate if he did not know. And what didn't kill him would only make him stronger. Severus' death had been bad enough and whatever was on that paper could hardly compare.

Filling his lungs with the soap smelling air Harry smoothed the paper and turned his eyes on the main article.

_COUP OR PRANK?_

_by Mullinda Tripling_

_Yesterday morning the everyday business at the International Confederation of Wizards Headquarters in Geneva was interrupted by a piercing alarm. Seconds later the present Mugwump, 102-year old Italian Julietta Bavanoche, was seen running through the hallways as if chased by nundus._

"_I did not even know she could run," office worker Miss Banner told this reporter. "We were all shocked to see her in such a hurry and worried about the alarm. A minute later all the exits were sealed and everyone summoned to the Meeting Hall."_

_The Meeting Hall is situated in the centre of ICW Headquarters and most often used as a gathering place for all the members and representatives from all around the world. The yearly ICW Summer Summons takes place in the Meeting Hall._

"_When we arrived... I've never even heard of such a thing occurring!" Asian Division Head, Japanese Nakama Ichigo, commented. "The Supreme Sphere that holds the record of every ICW member that ever lived was glowing green instead of normal pure white! It should not even be able to do that! The creator, the first Supreme Mugwump Pierre Bonaccord, designed it to glow white as a sign of neutrality and only stop doing so when the Mugwump seats are empty. This is unheard of!"_

_The Supreme Mugwump Albus Dumbledore, the current Headmaster of Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry, arrived in Geneva thirty minutes after the initial alarm – at this time the news of ICW shutdown had already reached Swiss Ministry of Magic – and an hour later this reporter was informed that the Sphere had independently removed Headmaster Dumbledore from the position of the Supreme Mugwump._

_The name of the current Head of ICW – and of the possible culprit – could not be interpreted nor the Sphere restored even after multiple attempts by numerous wizards. Is this some elaborate Christmas-time prank or a direct attack against the respected Albus Dumbledore? An attempted coup no one claims responsibility for?_

_More on the situation in Geneva...page 4_

_Minister Fudge: "Shameful prank!"...page 6_

_ICW History – International Successes...page 22_

The mage stared in shock.

There really did not exist an exclamation strong enough to describe Harry's feelings at that moment.

* * *

_Revised 9/2010_


	3. Whiskey and Books

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and no money is made with this.

* * *

Notes: Sorry, sorry, sorry. While cleaning and my computer I managed to lose this chapter and rewriting it was a nightmare. Don't ask me why, I just couldn't seem to gather my thoughts that were already travelling too far ahead to voluntarily focus on this. So again, I apologise. I try to do better in the future but without some personal shit this might have come out sooner.

Of the first chapter... I changed the ICW headquarters from Berlin to Geneva. Being born in -91 I really didn't remember until later in what state Germany was at that time (my history teacher would flay me). And Switzerland is neutral and thus a better choice in my personal opinion.

I've got loads of reviews! Thanks for those and here are some answers:

**brighsun89, Elfwyn**: yes, I will explain more about Harry's past but not right away. There's a reason why suspense is on the warning list. Keep with me and the fic and you'll find out. I've even got a sequel planned

**The elusive shadow**: sorry, my Harry's too much of a Slytherin to just publicly out himself.

**henriette**: Harry's 25, comes from year 2005 so his speech is pretty modern

**ilyena damodred**: Finnish but I do speak Swedish too. It's mandatory even in high school. Maybe you'll get to hear both languages in this fic.

Without further ado, here's chapter 2.

* * *

OF SHADOW, SHINE AND SHADES by dra6on

Chapter 2. Whiskey and Books

_I... I'm not just in the past... but in another world?_

The newspaper fell on the black tiles of the bathroom floor but Harry could not rip his eyes off it. He knew about time travel and theoretical dimensional travel from his research of Apophis. The Dark Lord had appeared out of nowhere without any connection to their present world, and time travel had been one option the Order had considered. And one did not research long-time time travel without coming across theories of alternate realities and different dimensions. Only it had all been theoretical and now Harry was stranded in one.

Probably. He might still be just crazy though his Occlumency pretty much prevented that.

_But I really can't trust this different Kreacher and a newspaper over firsthand experience. And this place is weird. Fudge the Minister? And Prophet-named newspaper? At least there's still firewhiskey._

With that thought Harry reached for the bottle, uncapped it and took a long sip without further contemplation. The liquid burned in his throat and on the way down but he welcomed the burn as he'd welcomed pain to be proof of reality. He felt slightly lightheaded and offhandedly remembered he really hadn't drunk any alcohol for a year and perhaps starting with whiskey was not a good idea.

"Oh, what the hell," the man mumbled and tilted the bottle yet again, this time finishing it off. Now, on a good day his performance might have earned him a couple of galleons in a bar – it was not every day you saw someone drinking firewhiskey like water – but this was _not_ a good day and he had _a pretty damn good_ reason to want to drown his thoughts.

Too bad he didn't do it fast enough for one particular thought to disappear into the chaos. The one thought he'd been avoiding since Kreacher's first appearance.

_If this is the past... Sev might be alive._

The water in the tub exploded outwards like a bomb had been dropped in, drenching everything in the bathroom. Harry sat in the quickly forming pool of water as the water from the bathtub rained on everything, hiding his tears of pain and loss.

And hope.

Suddenly desperate to get out of this place holding so many memories that were now fighting for attention, the mage grabbed a hold of the sink, trying to get up. His foot slipped and the respected Savior ended up on his face on the floor, too pained to even move. He curled into a tight ball and cried his heart out. It was too much. After a year of slowly dying of desperation and pain he finally had some hope but it hurt a hundred times more.

_Couldn't I just die? Haven't I been through enough of life already? Why do _I_ have to experience this torture?_

Slowly but surely the mage's sobbing subsided as his mental shields kicked in, and he managed to lift his head off the floor. Water was dropping from the ceiling, sliding down the walls. He rolled onto his back and stared into nothingness.

_I need confirmation. I could care less about my positions if my magic actually claimed them upon my arrival but something needs to be done. I have to find out about Voldemort and Apophis and _everything. _At least know there are minor differences but that doesn't tell me anything about the general situation._

_And Severus..._

_I'll think about Severus later._

Momentarily pushing aside his emotional outbreak and invoking practical part of him the mage attempted to stand up but had to grab a hold of the sink as world tilted and bile rose to his throat. Promptly emptying his stomach of all the fiery liquid he'd consumed earlier Harry could only groan in disgust. Now the floor was covered in water _and_ bile. Maybe he should just go sleep for a couple of hours to clear his head.

The Emerald flashed an agreeing shade, causing Harry to raise his brow in puzzlement. Since when had it been able to read his thoughts? What exactly _had _happened yesterday? But he was too tired to go into something that wasn't imperative. _Just one thing at a time._

Taking a collective breath the mage pushed himself on his feet. The Emerald illuminated the bathroom and the mess vanished in a deep green flash.

"Thanks." Harry gave it a tired smile. "Say, how about going into the library? I know I need to rest but do you honestly think I can _really_ rest without knowing anything about this place?" A whirl of his finger and he was clothed and everything he owned was back in place. Plucking the leather strap from the air where it was floating, he pulled his hair back and tied it into a neat ponytail.

Automatically a glamour rose to hide the black rings beneath his eyes and the paleness of his skin. It was really worrying how easily and automatically that happened but there had been no one to judge him when he'd first started depending on them. And there really weren't any wizards or magical beings powerful enough to see through his skin deep glamours so they offered infallible protection from curious eyes. People didn't want to know what a mess their Saviour really was.

He was just so _tired._ He hadn't actually rested for a year and being constantly tortured by memories of happier times hadn't left him whole. Harry was sane enough to admit that he was horribly broken, and refusing to speak about his demons after the War had not been the best of ideas. Now he'd accidentally transported himself to another world where surprises just kept pounding on him and he was neither mentally nor physically prepared to deal with this. If there was one thing his multiple teachers had gotten through his thick skull it was that preparation was half victory. With Voldemort he'd been jumping from one dangerous situation to another and only relying on his luck and instincts. The deaths of so many that could have lived if not for his thoughtlessness still weighed heavily on his soul, and it had been a true miracle that he'd prevailed. Though, lot of it had to do with anger and hatred and lust for revenge that Harry had carried inside him.

He'd eventually had to learn to stay in control no matter what happened. Standing up to a force like Apophis had forced him to understand how significant small things were. One right spell at the right time could change the direction of a battle. And it had happened many times. Voldemort had had humanly understandable levels of magic but Apophis had commanded an amount of magic so great it was no wonder people had thought him god. But even he had not been invincible and good planning had won them their war. Or at least partly.

Shaking his head in irritation and to stop the unnecessary reminiscence, the mage grabbed his Staff from the air where it was hovering and the food packages from the floor and exited the bathroom, leaving only spotless cleanliness behind him. Eyeing the bed longingly for a moment he finally forced himself to turn to the door knowing what he'd told the Emerald was the truth. Even if he did manage to trick himself to sleep it would not be real rest because he was just too worried and stressed to let his mind relax. At times like this it was a pain to be an Occlumens because his mind was too organized to voluntarily allow him oblivion for just a few hours. He had passed out on Friday because of pain and apparently his magic had restored some of his lost energy but the effect had not been permanent.

And he really had a lot of work ahead of him if he wanted to figure out this world.

But first, food.

Making his way down the corridor and stairs Harry was appalled by the dirt and dust that seemed to cover every inch of this place, even the portraits. A scent of decay and darkness was hovering all over the place. If things were the same here then Walburga wouldn't have been dead for more than five years but then again Harry had never gotten the idea that she'd been a spokeswoman for tidiness. Sure, if there was even a speck of dust on the family heirlooms she'd be screaming her hair off but otherwise, not really.

With Hermione, Andy, Mike and Theo living in Grimmauld place it had been a whole different place. Andromeda did not tolerate mess and Hermione had always been a very tidy person as long as she wasn't concentrating on anything else. The atmosphere had been warm, the dark presence now clearly present completely banished by the love and happiness Harry's friends had brought along with them. Grimmauld had felt like a home though during the past year it had only served as a painful reminder of what the mage had lost with Severus' death.

Mercilessly crushing all the feelings that the thought of his lover brought up, Harry concentrated on the present. He really couldn't go dissolving into tears every time he happened to think about Severus. He didn't even know whether or not the man was alive in this world!

And if he was, he would not be the same.

Someone else, Harry this time hoping would _be_ different , broke him out of his thoughts.

"Who are you?"

The mage did not even freeze in surprise, so honed his skills were, and dropped to the floor, his Staff rising between him and – Walburga's painting. Knowing she couldn't do much except scream the wizard rose to his full height and met the black eyes of the previous Mistress of the Black House.

She was as insane here as she had been in Harry's world. The gleam in her eyes was enough proof of that and the mage realized her existence was more proof of this being at least the past. No one could have restored the painting from the state he'd left it in. Harry briefly wondered if he'd have to do the same here though he hoped not. Kreacher hadn't talked to him for a month after _that _stunt. Of course he had been provoked but apparently you just didn't go destroying paintings – even if they were of insane screaming bitches – of old masters without displeasing house elves. Or at least one house elf in this case.

"_INTRUDER!_ Leave, you defiler of the Noble House of Black!" Well, at least she screamed as loudly here as she had back home.

"Mrs Black, please, calm yourself," Harry said in his tight, commanding voice. The woman seemed slightly taken back and Harry used that time to gather his thoughts. He really couldn't go declaring himself Lord Harry James Potter-Black since at this point of time he was ten years old and supposedly did not even know magic existed. And he had not found out about his Black inheritance until turning sixteen. And had not received the title of Lord until after defeating Voldemort.

But there was no denying he now was the Lord Potter-Black and Head of both Black and Potter families. If the article was right about ICW and his magic had claimed all of his positions – and he apparently was strong enough to override Dumbledore's claim – he was now also the Deputy Headmaster of Hogwarts and Supreme Mugwump.

"I am of Black blood, my dearest Walburga. How else could I have come in?"

A pensive look rose on the witch's painted face and a sense of foreboding overcame Harry. It was never a good thing to put ideas in the mind off a crazy painting.

"This house has been sealed since my death. Only the shame of my blood could have entered as he _was_ the Head of family after dear Regulus died."

Harry met the suddenly sharp gaze that was directed at him. On the outside he remained calm but on the inside he was screaming. _Sirius was alive in this world! And _Regulus _was already dead! _Dozens of different plans and ideas screamed to be acknowledged but Harry ignored them. He knew it was important to gain Kreacher's trust and destroying Walburga's painting was not a good start but he could not have the painting spreading rumours of him to others and if he remembered correctly Phineas Nigellus could actually travel between his painting here in the house and the one Hogwart's Headmaster's office. Harry could not allow Dumbledore to know of his being here.

"I can assure you Sirius has not died by my hand," Harry anticipated the witch's next question. The Living Emerald started to glow in expectance. It remembered Walburga from their world and had never liked the screaming. It seemed to sense – or then it had just again read his mind somehow – that soon the painting would not exist in this world either.

"Then who are you? What have you done! Filth! Filth dirtying the halls of my ancestors! Be gone! Leave! You-"

"Ambignis."

The yellow spell left Harry's hand and quickly surrounded the painting, tracing the frame with ugly coloured flames.

"Abutora!" The flames moved to eat the painting. Walburga, trying to shrink to escape the fire coming from all directions, was already screaming. Her high-pitched scream hurt Harry's ears but he stood his ground, knowing that the least he could do was witness as the painting of a once proud witch turned into ashes.

The screaming was cut off when the flames finally reached Walburga, allowing Harry to hear the pitiful sobbing coming from behind him. He turned, already knowing that he'd be seeing the wreck of a house-elf but unable to just walk away. Even if it would be for his Kreacher, he wanted this one to be happier as well.

Kneeling on the floor and waiting in silence as the fire burned out and the elf sobbed Harry couldn't help but wonder just how people in his world were doing. How was his Kreacher doing when his master just vanished? Had anyone even realized he was gone? When would they? Or was he just a copy of himself being sent here while the original Harry James Potter-Black still lived there? He sighed. There really weren't answers, and because of dimensional studies' theoretical nature, it was unlikely he'd ever get answers.

But then again, this _was_ another world and maybe here dimensional travel was as everyday occurrence as brushing one's teeth or hair. Or maybe not as common.

The heartbreaking sobbing of the elf was not subsiding even though the flames had finished their work and now the wall was presenting a black rectangle. This time he had not burned through the wall and Harry was glad about it. He was not sensing any angry magic targeting him but it was always a good idea to be careful with these old houses of dark families. Burning a hole through a wall in an old magical house could very well invoke the wrath of family magic.

"Kreacher," the man called out softly but the elf was too far gone to take notice. Rubbing the bridge of his nose Harry tried to decide what to do. He had no experience with overemotional elves and as far as he knew Kreacher would now try to kill him at every turn even if it was impossible for a house elf to knowingly harm their master.

Neutral, average power spells did not affect house elves – that's why their punishments usually involved self-harming – so Harry really couldn't just knock Kreacher unconscious and take him somewhere else. He puffed his cheeks in frustration. Nothing else to it then.

Moving slowly forward, Harry managed to lift the elf up into his arms before he realized anything weird was happening. The Staff was hovering above them, offering twinkles to assure Harry. It had no affect as Kreacher started to trash on his arms, his flailing arms nearly hitting Harry in the face.

"Be still." At the direct order most of the trashing stopped but the elf was still shaking, obviously trying to ignore the command of his master. His eyes were closed and trails of tears were clearly visible on the dirty face.

Deciding against Kreacher's cot that was probably in the most pitiful state of all the places in the old house Harry stepped into the dining room and laid Kreacher down on the table after brushing off most of the dust. Conjuring a glass of water and pouring half of the Pepper-Up potion he'd earlier reserved for the elf into it, the mage turned away and left, only saying: "When you're done sobbing, drink it. It will make you feel better."

The man headed for the library. He had more important problems to deal with. He'd try to calm Kreacher but if it didn't work, drastic measures would have to take place. Just like Walburga's painting he could not afford to leave behind any witnesses. No one could know or even guess that he wasn't originally from this world if staying really was his only option.

_But do I really want to go back? What's left in there? Hermione and Theo, sure, and even Andy and Mike but everything is so... void of colour. _Harry clenched his fist in agitation. _Going through the motions. Here I have the chance of... seeing colours again. Creating something new. Doing _better_. Don't I deserve this? I killed Voldemort and Apophis and all I got as a reward was heartache. Even if I have to do it again I still get _years _of happiness. If I play my cards right. _

Harry nearly walked past the library door but stopped in his steps as he recognized the script above the door. The door was ajar, apparently been so for years if one judged by the amount of dust accumulated on the floor. Loud creaking filled the air as the man pushed the door completely open and stepped in. At least the preservation charms were still functioning – he could sense them – but there was no sign of the dust repellent spells that Harry had helped Hermione put up in his world. The air tasted of books but even here the unfamiliar smell of decay and darkness was present.

Already reaching for his faithful holly wand in need of a little Light in this nest of Darkness Harry paused when a strange thought made him hesitate. What had happened to the counterparts of everything he'd brought with him? If his magic had taken over his positions... had he – accidentally – taken over this world's Harry and made that young boy disappear? And had Dumbledore also lost his wand yesterday morning? Or was it Friday night? _Had_ Dumbledore even had possession of the Elder wand here? Was Harry still the Master of Deathly Hallows? He had the cloak, the ring and the wand and he felt their magic surround him so most likely he was. But it was really safest not to use anything he had on him.

He really wanted to punch something. Things were so different yet the same. Getting used to this new world would take time and work. First he'd have to see about this world's study of dimensional travel and find out if there was some easy way to get back. Not that he wanted to but... it was his duty wasn't it?

This time his hand smacked against the table, disturbing the dust. Why couldn't he just ignore his sense of duty? They didn't _need_ him anymore. They just _wanted _him there to guide them. The truth was the world was already healing from the Chaos War and there was little Harry could do except show an example of strength. It was up to the people themselves to bring about peace and stability. One man, even one as accomplished as he was, could not change the world alone.

If there only was a way to let his friends to know he was okay...

Unless he actually was just a copy of the real Harry and the real deal was still living in his world.

_I wish I hadn't finished all the whiskey._

Focusing back on the problem at hand, Harry stalked towards the history bookshelf and picked the newest edition of _The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts._ Luckily it was from year 1984 so it should contain information about the First War with Voldemort but Harry was actually also interested in the earlier events as well. So he opened the book from the first page and started to read.

Two hours and three banishing charms later, it was a really tired mage that closed to book and leaned back on his chair. The situation wasn't as bad as he'd feared. Sure there were minor differences such as Dumbledore only defeating Grindelwald instead of killing him and the amount of imprisoned Death Eaters after war was considerably lower than in his world. But Voldemort had come to Godric's Hollow on Halloween 1981 and the events described in the book had matched Harry's own version of the events to a satisfying extent.

So it was pretty safe to assume Voldemort was now a pitiful spirit wandering in Europe's dark regions. Unless he'd already met up with Quirrell.

That was something he'd have to take care of. But he really had no knowledge of Voldemort's specific movements until he arrived at Hogwarts and September 1st was still over eight months away. He simply couldn't let this world's Harry to be left on his own to face a maniac and his accomplice. If he really did still exist, that is. And if he decided to stay.

_That should be one of my main focuses. Checking he's alright with Petunia. It's already too late to offer him something else. He can last eight more months of cooking and cleaning. But I should still check._

The mage glanced at his Staff that was hovering beside him. Yeah, that'd be good to know.

"Are there any other mages in this world?"

Two quick flashes that translated as negative had Harry raising his brows. There had been two others back home though both had been considerably weaker than him. And the twins Elias and Elysia had shared their Living Opal which might have contributed to their weakness. Both had been targeted by Apophis and killed two years into the Chaos War.

"Are there any unclaimed Living Jewels here?"

Again, two flashes. So, apparently he was this world's only mage. Leaking this to the public would cause more problems because it would raise questions of his origins. It was unheard of that a twenty-five year old wizard had managed to invent a new branch of magic that was completely unusable to anyone else besides himself.

The idea of staying in the background and helping from the shadows seemed appealing to Harry but he knew he could never do that. One slip of his shields and everyone would found out there was someone supposedly neutral but really powerful affecting events. And though he nowadays thought himself more Slytherin than Gryffindor he still preferred straightforward approach to underhanded techniques.

He needed to go out and find out more about everything. It'd be great if he could gain access to the British Wizarding Library's newspaper archives but it was doubtful on a Sunday. And tomorrow was already the 24th and only shops would be open for a couple of hours for late Christmas shoppers. This was a bad time to be new to this world. Everything would pause till Christmas was over.

_But I do wonder why I got sent back in time as well... _Harry pondered as he rose to put the book back in its place on the shelf. _Maybe the spell added to it. Instead of dimming the memories it sent me to the past of another dimension. But why 1990? I was specific in the wor- ...ding... Maybe I was sent back in exact years – fifteen actually – and this was the latest that I had no knowledge of Severus. A year from now I was already hating him for being the snarky bat-like Potions Master that couldn't stand the sight of me. Might be the answer to that but it still doesn't explain _why_ the spell worked like this. _

"I don't suppose you know either?"

The Emerald gave no response and Harry sighed. Taking a look around he started to twirl his finger, directing air currents to carry all the dust from the shelves. Soon there was a mini dust tornado whirling on the centre of the library and finally void of dust Harry was able to see how badly taken care of the entire place was. His library had twice the amount of books – thanks to Hermione – and now that he really used his sensitivity to magic even the preservation spells were falling to pieces.

_Not gonna deal with them now._

The window slammed open and Harry sent his tornado outside with a Notice-Not spell hovering around it. Cool air surged in bringing with it a sense of winter. Tomorrow was Christmas Day and the sounds comings from outside clearly declared it. It was the time of happiness and the air was charged with emotion that Harry wanted nothing to do with.

The man went to close the window only to catch a sight of a young boy right across the street. He was happily building a snowman, no knowledge of worry whatsoever. He was nothing like Harry when he was a child. This boy's clothes were top quality and he was wearing a red scarf. Watching him happily play in the snow raised forgotten feelings in Harry. He shut the windows and turned his back on the view.

Something in this world was getting to him. First the pain of thinking about Severus was... different. After arriving he did not even feel it and only after realizing his lover might be alive here he was starting to feel. Was it just that? Just the possibility of... Of seeing colours again that had him opening up and starting to feel again. Was he becoming a human again?

Was he healing?

"Ut emendo..." Harry murmured. Emendo meant so many things. He should probably look it up in a dictionary. After all, he'd only been studying Latin as a language for three years and he was used to relying on Severus's knowledge when he could not find the answers on his own. He'd only added the specifications to the spell itself and while it sure as hell hadn't _dimmed_ his feelings – more like intensified them based on what had happened in the bathroom, though he had just drunk a bottle of whiskey which really couldn't be healthy...

_Enough. _

He sat on the table and eyed the shelves after shelves of books before him. He wasn't likely to find any more answers in here but he really couldn't go out with just the knowledge of an outdated book to back him up. His shields could hide him from anyone but – at this point he gave the Emerald a pointed glare – his mage's aura was very particular and using magic could reveal the difference. And the less he knew about the dissimilarities the more likely he was to use magic and risk exposure.

Taking a deep breath he got up and started selecting the books. He ended up with _Wizards in 20th Century, Dark Magic On The Rise, Great Wizards in Politics _and _British Wizarding Law._ He doubted he'd even touch the last one. After all it was a multi-thousand-word piece of work. And he'd never been interested in laws as the language itself bored him to death.

As he began reading the Emerald started circling him lazily. Harry's body began to tingle, as if as a reminder of the pain he'd gone through upon his arrival. He gave the Emerald several meaningful looks between chapters but nothing penetrated the silence of his Jewel. His pain tolerance was higher than... well, it was _high_. So what might have sent your normal person screaming in agony only had him twitching uncomfortably. This was like an annoying fly buzzing around his ears, nothing he couldn't ignore.

Opting to do just that the man kept on reading. He was zapped out of his thoughts when the clock announced the Evening break. In the Black house that meant 6 o´clock in the evening. Harry rubbed his tired eyes and looked back down on the book he was reading.

His eyes froze at the sight of the title.

It was the law book. And he'd already read it halfway through.

Hiding his panic behind a facade of calm the mage looked at the books on the table. He'd finished all three others already and he even remembered everything he'd read. He could actually even remember the pages and lines of quotes.

"Okay, I give." He turned his cold gaze at the Emerald that was now hovering over the centre of the table. "What did you do to me?"

The Emerald started talking in twinkles and flares but the only thing Harry could get out of it was that it was guilty of doing this to him, did not regret it and was not going to undo it.

"Oh bloody hell."

The frustrated man ran his hands through his curly black hair, loosening the strap and just pulling it off. He massaged his scalp sending magical surges through his fingertips to calm the beginnings of a headache the size of Mt. Fuji.

"So, the way I see it, I'm not only in a different dimension, I've also changed."

The Emerald only flared and disappeared into non-space on its own. Harry sighed.

"And I still haven't eaten."

* * *

A/N: Sorry if this chapter is confusing and repetitive. Harry is in a confused state and having to rewrite this did not help the matters. More will follow soon.

_Revised 9/2010_


	4. Meeny, Miny, Goblins

It's been what? Three weeks? Sorry. But in my defence I have been focusing on planning this fic out. I had to find a way to not make Harry too powerful, a problem many writers face. I can't have him just breeze through fights like he's almighty. And I have also been writing other fics that hopefully will at some point find their way on this site.

And in this chapter we actually go somewhere! Like the title promises, goblins.

Thank you for all the reviews! And thanks for the patience.

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and no money is made with this.

* * *

**Be warned: mild lime**

* * *

OF SHADOWS, SHINE AND SHADES by dra6on

Chapter 3. Meeny, Miny, Goblins

Harry finished the last of the sandwich and Vanished the crumbles with a bit of wandless magic. The Prophet was open before him but his head was swimming with information from the books and he wanted to sleep so badly that concentrating on it was practically impossible. Unfortunately if he didn't take care of some things now, he'd have to wait until the Christmas was over to legalize his presence here in this dimension.

He had not found anything about dimension travel in the library and only mentions of time travel. Granted, he'd only spent three hours looking but Black library was not really focusing on those subjects. If he ever needed to find out thirty ways of skinning a person he knew where to look but when it came to something else than Dark Arts and bloodlines the library was seriously lacking.

Still, it had been a miracle to find a Potter bloodline book in the library. Harry knew in his world he would have had to go back six generations to find any branches in the Potter line. For some reason they'd always had usually one boy per generation but this dimension was different. While his father here had been an only child, his _grandfather_ had had twin siblings, Charlus and Charleine Potter. Charlus had married a Black and Charleine a muggle. Charleine had had a daughter who had died in 1965 at the age of 26. What a coincidence that counting backwards that would have been _Harry's_ birth year.

_It is too big of a coincidence. Maybe I'm thinking about this on a way too small scale. That I just happen to pop into a dimension where everything is set up ready for me is just too big of a chance. If I believed in higher powers, I'd think one of them was at work here, _the man pondered while drinking his reheated tea. _Well, no point stressing over it. I know I need to include both Potters and Blacks into my family line. One drop of blood can confirm my heritage and I don't want any nasty surprises. And since this world's Harry seems to be alive – though I have to confirm it – I'm not stealing his seat from him and _that_ would be harder to explain. _

He got up and rinsed his cup, putting upside down on the counter. He really had no idea how this all would affect the future of this world but he really wasn't one to just stand in the shadows all the time. Operating from there was fine from time to time but it did not appeal to him as something he could stand to do all the time. He wanted friends and family.

He wanted Severus.

It really was his main reason for doing this. To be with Severus he needed to establish his position in society. If he knew his lover at all, he would not accept a stranger from the shadows as his partner and Harry really couldn't right away reveal his true origins. That would certainly alienate Severus from him and that was the last thing Harry wanted to happen. Additionally, Severus would never accept a Potter, thus further diminishing Harry's choices.

A fond smile rose on Harry's lips as he thought of the name he was going to use. Though it served as a painful reminder, it would always remind him of loss and mistakes that he could correct this time.

How long was it... Three years ago?

oooOOOooo

_Harry ran through the corridors. His sword was slamming against his back and his leg was slowing him down. Poppy would slay him when she found out he'd not had her heal it while he was in the Infirmary but one well aimed Cutting hex wasn't enough to stop him. And the pain hardly registered in his brain._

_He burst through the door to Severus' office and took a look around, grinding his teeth when it proved to be empty. He had three hours until the next strategy meeting and he had hoped to go through his plans with Severus before he presented them to the War Council. And there was that small matter of having spent little to no time alone with his partner in life lately._

If that sadistic bat doesn't get here in one- _The thought cut off as the flames of the fireplaces flared green and the subject of Harry's thoughts stepped through. _

_He was wearing his usual black robes but even he had had to change due to war. Potions and spare wands adorned his belt and the fabric of his robe was shimmering with spells visible to Harry's eyes. The red scar running over his left eye gave him the look of a fighter and survivor. _

_Harry couldn't suppress the shiver that ran through him at the sight of his lover. _His_ lover._

"_How did it go?" he asked, masking his true intentions behind a mask of business._

_Severus sighed tiredly but Harry could see the softening of his eyes at the sight of him. "Not so well. The half-demons are dead on joining Apophis. Every attempt to change their minds is doomed to fail."_

_The mage stepped closer and raised a hand to brush against his lover's cheek. They stood in silence, both listening to the drums of wars pounding inside and around them. Harry was the first one to shake off the depressing feeling._

"_I found the last part of the ritual. I just need to change something about myself. Something to fit the description. Something that's still connected to me."_

_Severus gave him a scrutinizing glare and went to his bookshelf. Three minutes later they were sitting on the couch, Harry half on top of Severus and both enjoying a glass of Silver wine from the bottle Severus kept hidden behind his books._

_Harry was waiting for his lover's patience to run out. He always seemed to hurry to get to his partner's side but when they were together time lost meaning and he could care less if he had to speak to a dozen people afterwards. Here was the most important. But still, time went on and he did not want to waste it on mere teasing._

"_Stop glaring like that. It's just my name."_

"_Your name?" Severus raised a brow but Harry ignored his curious tone, opting instead to first snuggle closer._

_When he was set he started on his idea: "The ritual states that the person must sacrifice something of themselves to achieve true appreciation. I already have all the races co-operating on this." He read worry from Sev's face and smiled soothingly. "I'll still be Harry, Sev. It's just that I'd also have another name, just as magically binding as my birth name, but also separate from me because the magic of the ritual is mostly non-human magic."_

_Severus did not seem satisfied but Harry knew his lover would have to bend. This would give them a huge advantage in battles and they could not afford to ignore such a chance._

"_What name?"_

"_Star related. I'm a Black through Sirius – stop wrinkling your nose – so choosing a star as my name would be something related to me but still different." The mage looked at his lover through his lashes, knowing full well the impact of this particular look. "I want you to choose."_

_Severus collected their glasses and put them on the small table, the glasses clinking against each other._

"_Caelum."_

_Harry opened his eyes in surprise. Severus had sounded so decisive, as if this was something he needed not think about more. And Caelum did sound good. Though it wasn't a star, it was a constellation on the southern hemisphere. But what was he but a collection of different talents and bloodlines? _

"_You've thought about this?"_

"_It means a chisel. Used to carve jewels from stone. The muggle who discovered it also called it 'the heavens'."_

"_It's perfect. Everything fits. I love you." His words came out mumbled because Harry was already licking and kissing Severus's neck, slowly travelling across his chin, over the scar and arriving at the Potions Master's jaw where he stopped. He could feel the other man's breath on his cheek and ear. If he had not been this close, he never would have heard the words:_

"_As I do you."_

_The mage brushed his lips against Severus's, landing a feather light kiss there. Severus' hands tightened around him, bringing them even closer and prompting Harry to kiss him properly. He did, slowly delving his tongue..._

oooOOOooo

Harry stopped the flashback right there. It was getting harder to breath and he really shouldn't be focusing on what was lost when he had a new chance before his nose. The pain would never vanish completely but knowingly seeking it out by remembering was foolish and would only harm him. He never wanted to forget Sev but... Maybe moving on was allowed. Now that he had the chance to do that.

_Caelum Orion Black. _That was the name he'd chosen for himself. Harry would have wanted to add Sirius somewhere – especially because through Black line Sirius _was_ his father – but if his godfather was still alive in this world it was not a good idea. Little brothers were not often named after their older brothers and the family already had one Sirius in this generation.

So the family magic would have to forgive him for using his grandfather's name. Besides it fit the tradition that 'Caelum' – he really should get used to calling himself that, belief was half of truth after all – would have his father's first name as his second. People already would have trouble believing he was the product of a secret affair Orion Black had had with Diana Miles, Charlaine Potter's half-blooded daughter who was ten years younger than her supposed lover. It _was_ all bogus but as long as Harry did not give them room to think otherwise it would work. Besides, at that time Orion had already done his duty as a family head, producing two powerful heirs and could easily have decided to search for younger excitement outside his house. It was one of the little spoken secrets of purebloods. Once one fulfilled their duty to the family, the rules of marriage became slightly loose. At least it was like that in Harry's world.

Checking the time with a simple Tempus, Harry saw that he had to hurry. He already had changed into his spare robe from the non-place and hidden his tattoo with make-up from the same place. He was extremely glad he had decided to keep them there. During war time he'd practically lived from the non-place, storing food, potions and necessities there. After the war he'd cleared his personal storage from everything unnecessary – something he really regretted doing now – but thanks to leaving something behind he was now presentable. But goblins wouldn't admit even long lost Heads of families with secret goblin spells to get past security after midnight and it was already ten o'clock. He really couldn't go to Gringotts with titles such as the Supreme Mugwump and the Deputy Headmaster of Hogwarts weighing on his aura, even though here they did not seem to be as magically binding. Still, caution never hurt and they were something he could give up.

Reaching for his Staff from the non-place it appeared on his hand and he Dissapparated, this time soundlessly.

The location he'd chosen was close to Hogwarts and for a reason. Both Dumbledore and McGonagall resided in the castle and, as they were the recipients of his Declaration, he needed to be close to them or at least to a place where their influence was strongest. He stood on the edge of the ridge and tried to remember the exact wording. He did not need to do this in Latin – thank gods – but it did require dropping his shields and allowing his magic flow free. He already had his escape Apparition route planned out in case someone reacted fast enough to catch him in the act. He raised the hood of his cloak up so that half of his face was hidden and dropped the shields.

Releasing his magic like this brought into his attention just _what _the Emerald had done to him. Wizards had magical cores, theoretically located in their chest from where the magic then flowed to hands. That is why waving a wand with toes weakened the spells considerably. Wandless magic users had learned to channel their magic from their bodies without the aid of a wand but even they had trouble channelling through any other body part except for hands. Of course there were exceptions but those were always hereditary and rare.

But Harry... His magical core now reached everywhere inside of him. He literally had magic flowing in his veins and the amount was staggering. The magic of the Living Emerald was interwoven everywhere but already he had difficulties distinguishing it from his own magic. It was as though the Emerald was becoming a part of him, literally.

All of this flashed through Harry's mind in a second after which he concentrated on the Declaration. He was like a beacon to anything magical at the moment and the faster the got this over with the faster he could get to safety. And exposure like this screamed against all his instincts.

"By Heart and Soul, I appoint Albus Brian Wulfric Dumbledore as my successor for the seat of Supreme Mugwump."

The Emerald flared.

"By Heart and Soul, I appoint Minerva Rose McGonagall as my successor for the seat of Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

Again, he heard the rumbling of the earth.

"By Magic and Might, I renounce my claim on the seats of Supreme Mugwump and Deputy Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

The Emerald turned brilliant white and the Staff burning hot. Harry felt his magic rise like a tidal wave that at least was under his control unlike the storm he'd faced upon his arrival. He was still nervous of the attention he was drawing to himself but his only other option would have been to talk directly with both Dumbledore and McGonagall and probably tell them everything. While Minerva was great – most of the time – Dumbledore and Harry had never seen eye to eye, Harry blaming him for his childhood and Dumbledore trying to control him.

He was pretty sure that even here Dumbledore would try his best to control him if he ever found out about Harry's true origins. That's why he now needed to gather his magic and raise the shields and get the hell out of here.

The mage proceeded to do that. Even at his best speed it took minutes to pull his magic back into his body. It wasn't actually the pulling that was difficult but the keeping it locked in because now his body acted as a container for the magic and he was unused to it. Finally he ended up raising his shields and _drinking_ _in_ the magic through little holes in them. Then the mage Dissapparated as if chased by hellhounds.

At the first stop in Liverpool Harry chucked his Staff into non-place and at the second in Copenhagen sent his cloak away as well. He knew the goblins could smell the mighty magic on him but there was little he could do about it. It would take _days _until the smell faded and goblins were the only ones with that special ability.

Quickly popping to Edinburgh and from there to Diagon Alley, Harry made sure all of his shields were up and running and mentally prepared himself for the next hours. Because it would take hours to convince the goblins and... get them to accept him at the lack of a better expression. No goblin would ever trust a wizard whose family had been involved in their oppression.

While walking down the street Harry noticed the differences even though he was freezing without his cloak. Diagon Alley had been one of the main targets in both wars and renovations and rebuilding had changed it. Harry hardly remembered this version and it did not help to see with eyes used to 15 years to the future. The Alley was quiet at this hour and the only noises his ears could pick on were drifting from Knockturn Alley where night-time was the busiest for shopkeepers.

At least Gringotts was the same marble centre as always. It being dark and cold outside Harry hurried up the stairs already chanting the Gobbledegook spell under his breath. He passed right through the wards and the golden doors without guards and silver ones inside ending up in the deserted lobby.

"Hello?" the mage called. He was nervous about the darkness. The Gringotts he'd known was always brightly lighted, even during war time. Maybe it had been a tradition that started _with _war.

It was also dead silent. He was half of mind bringing out his Staff or using magic to light his surroundings but the goblins might perceive that as an attack. Their magic was only slightly different from humans and not having wands was a serious inconvenience for them. And humans being the ones to deny them their right...

"I come in peace," he called. Eventually his nervousness and patience won out and the mage closed his eyes and sent his senses around him. Ahh, he was watched. There were fourteen goblins all around him and more were coming. He better do something soon.

" – _Brothers in gold, I come to you without weapons and peace as my intention. May we exchange our wealth in honour and honesty – _"_, _Harry repeated the goblin welcome in perfect Gobbledegook.

The silence was deafening and Harry could already feel his fighter spirit rising inside of him after a year of absence. He'd been in one too many battle situations to simply ignore even the slightest threat – that had been what had made him choose to fry Walburga – and at the moment the goblins were presenting one. And not even one slight.

Harry longed for the feel of his Staff on his hand but he really could not reveal himself here. He was not trusted, not _worthy_ of their respect and that put him in jeopardy. He wanted to say something but knew that by speaking first he'd given the right to continue to the goblins and opening his mouth now would only put him at serious disadvantage. Being a human in a goblin residence was disadvantage enough without adding to it.

So he waited. In that deafening silence he let his senses stretch and watched as more and more goblins poured silently into the hall. Silencing spells had been woven to their shoes and his five senses were almost completely useless in trying to discern the goblins' exact location. Though he wasn't magically sensitive naturally, it was a skill that could be learned, and now he took full advantage of it. And not being a natural one he was rarely overwhelmed by what he sensed.

Sudden whoosh of air was his only warning and Harry jerked his head to the right, the spear only scraping his cheek. He wiped the blood off and tasted it, the familiar taste of salt and iron exploding on his tongue.

_I could start a blood feud over this, _Harry thought but remained still. He felt the blood drip off his face but so far every drop had been absorbed into his clothes and he hadn't needed to use magic. But neither was he going to just let his blood drip all over the floor and let the goblins have that much power over him. _Tread carefully._

" – _I wish to speak with the Master Banker of Gringotts. – " _Harry could almost hear the rustling of clothing. He rolled his eyes, deciding to play a little gamble. If they had been just testing him with the spear, he might have played along for a while longer but offering a break in the silence really was just too obvious for him to fall for and he was not in the mood of playing games with goblins. "I already know where you are and that there are currently 42 goblins surrounding me, both male and female." He paused to let that sink in. Few humans had ever seen female goblins and some said they didn't even exist. That he could sense them said something about his abilities, and while using English might be risky he did not want to sound insulting by trying to present himself as more goblin than human.

"So keeping this up is completely unnecessary."

The lights went on, blinding Harry. As his watering eyes got used to the brightness he also was finally able to see the threatening circle the goblins had formed around him. They might not have been carrying wands but their array of weaponry was imposing nonetheless. Harry kept absolutely still, staring at the far end wall. He wanted to know who he was addressing before making assumptions that might lead to problems.

" – _Name? _– "

Without missing a beat, Harry stepped around and bowed before the weaponless goblin that had spoken. He was certain to straighten to his full height before answering: " – _Caelum Orion Black. I have come to claim the fortunes of Black as the Head of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black._ – "

His declaration disrupted the stillness of the surrounding goblins though they did not start to whisper as humans might have. Harry was wondering what was keeping the Master Banker. He did not see anyone with the insignia but who knew if it even existed here. He damned himself for not reading up on goblin history when he had the chance. It would be so much easier to have some other knowledge about them except for Binns's long lectures of goblin rebellions and his own wartime experience. Binns had been absolutely worthless and during wartime Harry had been more concerned about learning about the magical abilities and current customs of goblins instead of their ancient traditions and history. Not that he did not know much but there were so many different sides to them that he simply couldn't keep up. Humans were so much less complicated.

Harry blew out the breath he'd been holding in. The male goblin that had spoken was watching him with eyes shining with intelligence and curiosity and it was making his skin crawl. He knew goblins could see magic better than any other creatures and since Harry had made sure there was no visible magic floating around him unlike around all the other wizards he was already presenting himself as something rare and different.

Add to that the smell of his magic and he really did not know what the goblins thought of him.

"Wizard Caelum Black?"

Harry whirled around and quickly fell on one knee. Jeez. He really had not expected to see a royalty here but there he was: the king of goblins, Ragnuk the Third. The mage narrowed his eyes. No... Not the king yet. Prince Ragnuk.

"It is an honour to meet you, prince," Harry replied in English as it was the language Ragnuk had used.

The goblin raised his eyebrows in surprise and Harry realized his mistake too late. The royal goblins did not usually introduce themselves to humans and only the king spent more time in publicity. Harry had not only shown his respect but recognized Ragnuk. He had to come up with some sort of explanation or his life might be in danger. _As if it wasn't already,_ he inwardly snorted. But talking now when it was not his turn might get him killed even faster.

_It's a pain not to be ignorant to their nature. Then they could only laugh at me behind my back but when it's like this... _He looked around him only to see suspicion on every single face. _Better think of something fast._

Harry returned his eyes to the prince and met the black eyes with his green ones. They spent a long time watching each other, Harry also keeping an "eye" on the others with his sensing ability. Finally, Ragnuk snorted.

"You are an intriguing human. Follow me."

Not at all relieved Harry rose to his feet ignoring everyone else. He strode after the prince concentrating on his breathing and his story. It was never a good idea to lie to magical beings. Harry for example could pretty much tell if he was being lied to, as could any well trained Legilimens.

The prince and his escorts led Harry to the office that belonged to the Master Banker and was at the moment empty. One look around and Harry knew why. There were three braids in the room, one over the door, one in the centre of it and another on the desk. Harry knew from experience that they'd be from sage, verbena and yarrow. Goblin death herbs.

"My condolences on the passing of a brother," he said silently, bowing his head. Many of the goblins glanced at him and Harry could feel the atmosphere change slightly. Into what, he was not certain.

Ragnuk took the seat behind the desk and motioned Harry to take the other seat. He did so as the other goblins lined on the walls, making sure he was surrounded. How he longed the feeling of his Staff on his hand. Being in a dangerous situation without proper protection was never good even if it was necessary to appear unthreatening.

He met the eyes of the prince steadily, not allowing any of his thoughts reflect on his face. Ragnuk seemed somehow displeased.

"It is my understanding the Black family fortune will be inherited by Sirius Black even if he is currently imprisoned in Azkaban. In the case of his death the fortune will go to Bellatrix Lestrange and her family."

Harry raised his eyebrows. "No disrespect to you, prince, but am I to understand you are acting Master Banker and will deal with my solicitation?"

The goblin's face blanked but Harry could feel his eyes drilling into him. "Before that, we must establish your relationship with the goblin society." Ragnuk's words caused yet another change in the atmosphere and Harry's shoulders tingled in anticipation. But at least he had a lot of experience in negotiating and knew to shut up about his questions why he – a stranger – needed to "establish a relationship". Then of course his arrival had probably brought up a lot of questions and Harry needed to direct the conversation somewhere else. He really needed to get used to the differences and lack of respect. He was nobody here.

"You failed to answer my question, prince." The guards tensed. "I understand your curiosity but I only demand the same respect I already am giving you. I am of Black blood as well as descendant to many powerful witches and wizards and wielder of powerful magic that I am sure you can... smell." He glanced to his side to see the guards had closed in.

"You are hardly in a position to demand anything, Mr. Black." But Harry could see the goblin was disturbed. The mage had spent hours locked in negotiation with the king of goblins and apparently the tiny hints he displayed were the same even here. It was a tiny advantage but at least it was one. And apparently he needed to defuse the situation somehow or he'd end up killing a handful of goblins.

He sighed in apparent defeat. "I have known goblins that trusted me. And no, I can't tell you anything more about them as I am bound by vows." It was a little white lie. The vow stated he could not reveal his allies to anyone he knew opposed them and Ragnuk had been an ally. "However, I also have a connection to the earth, as you do, and sometimes I surprise even myself with what I know."

Ragnuk's eyebrows climbed to his hair line. "A connection to earth?"

"Surely you can feel it?" Maybe he had been wrong and there were some fundamental differences in goblins of this world. Maybe he should stop relying on his previous knowledge and stop assuming things.

How he would exactly let go of fifteen years of experiences in the wizarding world, the mage did not know.

"You expect us to believe a human like you hears the sound of the earth and understands it?" Ragnuk managed to catch him off guard, so deep he was in thought, and Harry knew irritation had flashed on his previously blank face.

"As I said, I have a special connection to earth. My magic is practically bound to it." At least to the Emerald it was. "I am... _different_ than most wizards but I do not seek to use my specialities to my personal advantage. I do, however, need to secure my position in society, and that is easiest done by becoming the Head of my noble family. The Head that I _am _by magic."

Ragnuk was silent for many minutes, just watching him and breathing deep. Harry knew the goblin was trying to analyze the smell of his magic but also knew the attempt was in vain. He'd only let loose his magic, not actually used it, when he'd renounced his claim on the positions of Supreme Mugwump and Deputy Headmaster of Hogwarts. The smell of raw magic was same for all humans and no matter how magically altered Harry was, he was still biologically human.

"It is a rare occasion that magic decides to skip the elder in favour of the younger," the goblin finally said and nodded to one of his guardians. The armed goblin left immediately without saying a word. Harry hoped they were finally getting somewhere but did not of course let any of this show on his face. "How did you become aware of your position?" Ragnuk questioned.

Harry drew in a long breath. He'd have to get used to this lie because it certainly would not be the last time he needed to recite it.

"I have always been very magical. My mother apparently died giving birth to me and I was brought up by a squib in Australia. He died when I was young and I ended up in muggle child service system." Harry's face darkened as he deliberately remembered some of the darkest times of his youth. He saw Ragnuk draw back and was pretty sure he'd shown his true colours accidentally. Smoothing his expression, the mage continued: "He did however leave me with a letter that explained my origins. I figured if my father wanted nothing to do with me, I wanted nothing from him. So I kept living my life on my own." Harry shrugged. He knew it was best to tell mix some truth with the lie and was glad he'd already prepared for this discussion. "I was eighteen when I gained my special skills. There was an... incident. But I found a partner who accepted me for who and what I was." Harry knew pain was evident in his voice. "He died a year ago and there was nothing left for me there. I decided this might be a chance to discover my origins."

Ragnuk nodded. "You are an illegitimate child of Orion Black. With whom?" If he did not believe Harry, the goblin certainly hid it well.

Harry raised his brows innocently. "Diana Miles."

The blank look Harry received was enough to assure him Ragnuk had not recognized the name. Fortunately the guard chose this moment to return. He was carrying beautifully decorated box that glowed with magic – at least to Harry's eyes – and a dagger, equally magical. The mage recognized both and sat up straighter in his chair. He absentmindedly rubbed his cheek where the spear had scraped him earlier and was pleased to notice the wound was gone already. Though it was more evidence of the Emerald's affect on him but at least it was a welcome change.

"I see you recognize these items."

Harry gave a sheepish smile. He really couldn't answer that question in any satisfactory way.

The guard put the items on the table and stepped back. Harry waited until Ragnuk motioned him to proceed, then reached out and grasped the handle of the dagger. Without letting the magical surges slow him down, the mage slashed the palm of his left hand open and let the blood run freely, filling in the engravings on the lid of the box.

"_Sangvictuo Familia_," he whispered, thus ensuring the blood could only be used in determining his family connections and not against him in any way.

Harry sent his magic on the wound, feeling it close even as the box glowed brightly, accepting the blood and the magic it carried. Harry put the dagger respectfully aside and drew the box closer, opening it with both hands.

The interior was padded with black velvet. He glanced at his right thumb where the Black family ring of his home world had rested before he'd opted on not wearing any insignias to declare his loyalties. Now he was glad the ring was in Gringotts of his world for Teddy to inherit when he came of age.

Harry picked the silver and obsidian ring from its casing and slipped it on without further ceremonies.

His knees gave away and the mage collapsed into his chair as the magic of the ring invaded his. It was familiar to Harry who had carried the Black family ring for good eight years but the family magic could not understand why it should accept a younger heir though it apparently already _had_. It demanded an explanation and Harry allowed the foreign magic to see his memory. He did not know how much time passed and he wasn't exactly in pain – on his scale – but neither was he comfortable.

Finally the magic deemed him acceptable and returned to the ring to be called upon at a time of need. The mage sighed in relief and opened his eyes.

Lord Harry James Potter-Black was no more. From now on he would be Caelum Orion Black and everything that came with the name in this world.

* * *

A/N: Yes, you got a taste of Severus but sorry, that's all you're gonna get in a while. And about the name change... It was necessary. Younger Harry is a major character and I could probably juggle the two Harrys with their original names but it would take so much work and concentration that I rather not. You can call me lazy but it's so much _easier _this way.

The next chapter is almost done and it's Easter holidays so it'll be out in a couple of days. I know I haven't been reliable but I'm trying.

_Revised 9/2010_


	5. Diagonal Exploration

Here you go and, boy, it is _long_. Almost two thousand words longer than my usual chapters. In this chapter I show some of the tiny differences that separate Caelum's reality from this one and also lay down the basis for many of his relationships with minor characters.

And thank you for the reviews. I just want to say that even a small thank you means a lot and every single review is greatly appreciated. And I am open to critique so don't be afraid to write your mind.

And sorry if you find mistakes. I tried to write it fast and I'm my own beta so something might have missed my inspection with the rush.

So, enjoy.

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and no money is made with this.

* * *

OF SHADOW , SHINE AND SHADES by dra6on

Chapter 4. Diagonal Exploration

The goblin was regarding him with curious eyes as Caelum straightened and ran a hand over his hair. The family ring fit him perfectly – as all magical rings were designed to – and Caelum let it catch the light and admired the shining spirals of black and silver. He smiled, satisfied and happy the ring looked the same here as it had in his world. He gave it a little snap. The ring instantly turned invisible but he could still feel it on his finger and any creature with a gift for seeing magic could see the glow on his right hand.

"I see you are familiar with the functions of the ring."

Caelum gave Ragnuk an even look. "As I have repeatedly said, I have a deep connection with my magic and the family magic just connected with it. How could I _not_ know what it is capable of?"

The mage knew he was being rude but it felt _good_ to have access to his family magic again, especially since he was tired enough to fall asleep on his feet. He only wished he could have claimed the Potter magic as well but he did not want to steal anything from Harry. Sirius was another matter because Caelum had gotten the impression his godfather (Harry's godfather actually) wanted nothing to do with his Black inheritance. He'd run away from home when he was sixteen, after all. Or maybe he hadn't, in this world. But then again, he had been referred to as a blood traitor...

This brought his attention to the one problem that was Sirius's unjust imprisonment. He turned his eyes to Ragnuk and was just about to speak his mind when he remembered to be polite and closed his mouth. Ragnuk seemed to find this amusing. Fortunately.

"Since you claim you are bound by vows – and I somewhat believe you – further discussion on your _profound_ knowledge on goblins and our customs will be put on hold. But I do require an oath from you."

Caelum nodded – he had expected no less. Ragnuk made a good king and no ruler should let rogues roam free. The mage was a rogue. As he'd earlier realized, someone unattached and undeclared with his knowledge and skills was bound to make people nervous. That was why he was creating a foothold in society for himself. Well, that and the possible benefits it would have on his and Severus' relationship.

Deciding on the wording took Caelum about thirty seconds, after which he gracefully rose from his chair only to kneel before Ragnuk. " –_ I, Caelum Black, swear never to use my knowledge on goblins to their evident disadvantage, nor to my own personal advantage. This I swear to Prince Ragnuk of goblins, by gold and gain. _– "

" – _I, Ragnuk the Third, accept your vow._" There had been a long pause until the prince spoke and Caelum had to stop himself from sighing in relief when he finally did. His vow was not nearly the strongest but it was the only one he was ready to give. Too many vows already bound his magic and with the changes going on with him and the Emerald soon magic would mean his life as well. He stopped himself from rubbing his eyes tiredly.

"Thank you." Caelum nodded his appreciation and returned to his chair. Now business. "Who is the accountant of the Black fortunes? I would like to request his services in several matters."

Ragnuk got up and moved to the cabinet standing on his left. He opened the second to the top drawer, letting it slide. And slide. And slide. Until it hit the opposite wall. Caelum hid his amazement though taking into consideration the amount of clients the goblins handled he shouldn't have been surprised.

"Your account manager seems to be Gobteeth," Ragnuk read from the thick folder he'd picked from the drawer. One nod sent the same guard away, this time on a mission to find the accountant. "And as you probably are aware, the Black family has a long history as our clients. You are currently in possession of four vaults: 379, 500, 501, and 711. Would you like a tour?"

Caelum nearly turned down the offer but at the last minute remembered that any human suddenly in possession of four vaults would definitely want to have a look. And besides, perhaps the vaults would host documentation that would prove to be valuable and unknown to him. "I would appreciate it."

"Are you in need of money pouches?" Ragnuk seemed to be all business now and Caelum would have preferred to conduct his business with the prince instead of a goblin he'd never heard of.

"I have one and any more would just be a waste of space."

"May I see?"

Caelum shot Ragnuk a glance but since goblins would always be in charge of his money – for the most part – he saw no reason to decline. He reached for his belt and threw the pouch on the table. He saw he'd yet again managed to surprise Ragnuk as the goblin leaned in to inspect the pouch without touching it.

"This has been warded against anyone else's touch," Ragnuk said without looking at Caelum. He sniffed. "A weak _glacius_." Ragnuk always had had a sharp sense of smell.

"And of course it's bottomless and carries featherweight charms and opens into a different pocket for muggle money," Caelum continued before reaching out and picking it up. "I did not claim my title for the money. I am quite wealthy even without the Black fortunes, though I do intend to put it to good use." He attached the pouch on his belt and turned his serious gaze on Ragnuk. "It is one of the things I wish to discuss with my accountant."

Ragnuk had closed the drawer and taken his seat though the folder was still on his hands. But he was not looking at it, Caelum had his full attention. And when the prince of goblins decided to give someone his full attention, that someone felt the weight behind that gaze. But Caelum met him eye to eye.

"Are you completely human?" the prince asked suddenly. Caelum blinked and threw back his head to laugh. He felt lightheaded and knew it was the fatigue getting to him and that he should really watch what he said next. The two Ragnuks were starting to blur in his mind.

"No, I am not," he replied, still chuckling. Ragnuk of his world had actually asked that same question when Caelum still was only human. But that was years ago. "And you should pray I never lose contact with my humanity."

"What creature would make me do that?"

"One you should pray to never face," Caelum replied, getting serious again. "But worry not. I've sworn to rather die than let it take over. One thing though... If I ever ask you to kill me, you should do it right away, without asking questions."

Ragnuk put the folder down.

"I do not expect it to happen since my will has never been broken but it is possible." Caelum straightened his back. "It is not for me, but for everyone else."

"The thing would endanger goblins?"

"Not specifically," Caelum replied truthfully. "But everyone is its prey."

Ragnuk eyed him seriously, as if seeing him for the first time as he truly was and Caelum was pleased. He did not like to lie and truth had always been the best way to deal with goblins. If someone also knew about his gigantic problem... well, all the better that way. Even if it had Ragnuk considering killing him right away.

"I see." Ragnuk's expression was unreadable and apparently in his opinion the matter was closed with this. At least he jumped to the next subject without pause. "As a representative of the bank, I am also curious of your maternal inheritance. Diana Miles, you said? Miles is not a wizarding family in Britain. Unless she was a muggleborn. As I find it hard to believe Orion Black would have chosen a mere muggle to father a son with."

"Half-blood actually. And I was more of an accident." The guard returned with the accountant but Caelum continued without paying them mind: "I would appreciate it if I could keep my maternal inheritance to myself. As I understand it, I am heir to a family with great reputation and through my magic I could override the bloodheir's claim. However, I do not wish to do so. I do not desire to deal with the publicity it would bring me. An illegitimate son claiming the seat of Black family Head over his older half-brother and rightful bloodheir is enough."

"Yes, I can see that." Ragnuk turned his attention to Gobteeth and Caelum followed suit. The stranger was like any goblin, a short creature with relatively long fingers and legs. Gobteeth was also wearing glasses that seemed to be slipping off his impressive nose.

" – _Your Highness. _– " Gobteeth gave Ragnuk a small bob of head. A king would have received a bow.

"This is Caelum Black, the new Head of Black family," Ragnuk introduced them and Caelum was certain Gobteeth would have been shocked no matter how the introduction was handled. As it was, the mage's accountant turned to him and openly stared, his black beady eyes growing in size.

"But-but... What of Sirius Black? Has he passed? The records have not changed!"

"I am the magical heir to the Black bloodline. The ring has accepted me." Caelum gave the ring another snap and it turned visible before fading from sight yet again. Those few seconds were still enough to convince Gobteeth and he took a hold of himself.

"How can I be of service, Mr Black?"

"Should we take our business to your office? I doubt the prince wants us disturbing the peace of Master Banker's office any longer." The mage smiled at Ragnuk who nodded briskly.

"It has been interesting, Mr Black. Am I right to assume you will contact me if need arise?"

Caelum shared a look with the prince and saw his appearance had given the goblin many things to ponder on and nodded seriously. "And I in return ask that you contact me if you think you have need for someone with special skills. I am quite capable, and I assure you no Black shall stand against you and still belong to the family."

"I will keep you to your vow." Ragnuk nodded to his errant guard. "Griphammer will accompany you to the vaults."

Caelum rose and bowed respectfully, in agreement as well as a goodbye. He waited until Gobteeth bid farewell to his prince and then followed his accountant out of the office. He was pretty sure there was some sort of bow that a stranger was required to perform when leaving the presence of goblin death herbs but to the death of him he couldn't remember it and only hoped Ragnuk would understand his ignorance wasn't rudeness. Thought he'd displayed even that trait of his in the past hour.

Gobteeth led him through the dark corridors, apparently expecting him to see his way through the dark without any help. Griphammer followed them silently and Caelum stopped himself from asking if he was a relative of Griphook's. The goblin naming system had never made any sense to him and it wasn't something a wizard would find useful to know.

Gobteeth's office was smaller and messier than the Master Banker's but it was to be expected. Caelum took a seat without being asked to and voluntarily opened the discussion. "I apologise for the lateness of the hour."

"Yes, yes. Your arrival was quite unexpected and your identity even more so." Gobteeth was busy going through the papers on his desk but not busy enough to refrain from shooting him a displeased look. Caelum nearly smiled. His earlier account manager had been called Boglin and somehow with the similar attitudes it felt like he hadn't even changed. He hoped Boglin would make sure his will was properly distributed to all beneficiaries. At least as soon as he was declared dead. Which might take a while. If he didn't get back.

The mage shook his head to concentrate on the moment. Now was not the time to decide whether he even wanted to return.

"May I see your wand?" Gobteeth asked and extended his hand, ready to receive it. Caelum blinked.

"I don't have one." Well, he did but none of his wands would leave his possession without a fight.

Gobteeth stared at him in disbelief and from behind his back Caelum could also feel Griphammer's eyes on the back of his skull. The urge to fidget was great but he fought it.

"Mr Black, are you or are you not a wizard?"

"I am very adept at wandless magic. I did carry a wand but it snapped a year ago and I have not seen the need to replace it." One of his wands_ had_ snapped a year ago. A secondary wand. He pushed the memory out of his mind.

The goblins stared at him in incredulity and Caelum knew they wanted proof of his claim. He snapped his fingers and all the papers on Gobteeth's desk arranged themselves on neat piles. The accountant leaned back and stared at his table. Then he glanced at Caelum and went back to staring at his now organized desk. Even the quills were arranged by size.

"Satisfied?" The mage was careful to keep the smugness out of his voice.

Gobteeth nodded slowly and handed him a pile of parchment Caelum hadn't noticed him retrieve. "Tap these then. A finger will do."

Caelum leafed through the documents. The pile consisted of familiar property deeds and Gringotts confidentiality and contract papers. He obediently tapped the pile with his finger, sending a surge of his magic through it. After confirming the signatures now adorning the documentation were indeed his new one – thankfully they were – he handed the pile back to Gobteeth who went through every parchment with pedantic attention.

Caelum could see why he was a good accountant.

It took Gobteeth nearly quarter of an hour to finish and through all this time he did not spare one glance at the wizard. Caelum was quite used to this kind of treatment and waited patiently. He mentally went through everything he needed to bring to Gobteeth's attention. Finally the goblin nodded, satisfied, and handed Caelum an identical pile of parchment, sans the signatures. The mage again hadn't seen him retrieve it or even spell it into existence.

"I believe the Black London house is liveable if you wish to move there," the goblin grunted.

"I spent the night there already," Caelum pointed out and automatically sent the papers to non-place. He could go through them more thoroughly later, now he needed to talk about Sirius.

"It has come to my attention that my brother, Sirius Orion Black, was imprisoned without proper trial or the chance to confess under Veritaserum. I would like you to hire a wizarding lawyer to review his case."

Caelum could see he had yet again surprised the goblins but this time Gobteeth did not waste time on stuttering and stupid questions. "Mr Sirius Black has spent the past nine years in Azkaban. You want to review his case _now_?" The goblin had no qualms about expressing his disbelief. The mage was pretty sure he'd caught onto the unspoken thought: _Are you insane? _

"My brother was innocent. Peter Pettigrew framed him and escaped." Caelum made a face. _Probably _it had happened in this world as well. "Unfortunately I have no idea where he is at the moment. Only that he is a rat animagus and missing a finger on his right paw. The finger that he himself cut off and that was sent to his mother as his only remains."

Gobteeth stared at him for a long moment then nodded. "I can see if I can find a lawyer... willing to take the case." _Insane enough to even consider_ _defending Sirius Black._

Caelum kept his calm. "Thank you. I would also like you to invest in the Bolt Company. They will soon produce the best broom on market for decades. We do not want to miss on this." At least he sincerely hoped he'd soon get to mount a Meteorbolt again, or a Firebolt in lack of anything better.

Gobteeth was clearly wondering where he got his information from but did not ask, only scribbled some notes. "Anything else?" he asked guardedly.

"Yes, actually. Am I to understand Gringotts does not exist in the Muggle World?"

"Of course we do!" Gobteeth snarled. Caelum blinked but otherwise hid his surprise. Some things indeed were different.

"You do? Oh. That makes everything so much easier. I need to create an alias in the Muggle World under my mother's maiden name. Miles. Caleb Miles. I need the paperwork to be legitimate and I need to open an account at one of the British muggle banks. A 100 thousand pound deposit will do. Not only that but I also need you to be as discreet as possible. I do not want any connections between this identity and the wizard Caelum Black."

For a second Caelum was sure Gobteeth had turned speechless but the goblin quickly recovered. "That is... quite an extensive request. I will have the paperwork ready in a couple of days but nothing can be finalized until after the human holidays. Any details I should include in the birth records?"

"Make me a found child who grew up in the orphanage. Date of birth August 2nd, 1965. I doubt event he Australian Ministry has any records of me as I tended to lay low and was mostly self-taught. Not even with the muggles as I tried to stay as untrackable as possible. There won't be a birth certificate anywhere to be found and you just need to forge the records." _It should be easy with this ancient technology._ "I will of course take responsibility for any expences that you need to use. Just please get it done as quickly as possible. _  
_

"I also do have some plans considering the wizarding market but nothing definite. Now, if we're done here, I'd like to see my vaults."

It took them three hours to visit all the vaults, mostly because two of them – numbers 500 and 501 – contained objects instead of money. 500 had a wide array of magical weaponry that Caelum had never seen. He actually ended up picking himself a Gaelic claymore that buzzed with magic. The sheath was beautifully decorated with black dragons and silver and Caelum found it oddly fitting. Vault 501 hosted several magical objects, most of them reeking of dark magic. Caelum knew he could have spent days there, finding out what each artefact was used for. Even Gobteeth didn't possess a catalogue. The Blacks, it seemed, had merely hoarded all the dark artefacts they could find and then dumped them in their vault. Some of them were really powerful and old, dating back to Egypt.

But Caelum was far too tired to go through them now.

It was past midnight when Griphammer escorted him to the Apparition point. Caelum gave him a nod, sent his money pouch and the claymore to non-place – he honestly didn't want to risk losing them mid-Apparition – and Disapparated with a pop.

He appeared in his bedroom and only paused to ward the room before falling on his bed and asleep before one could spell dead tired.

oooOOOooo

It was snowing silently as Caelum stood opposite to the Charing Cross Road entrance to Leaky Cauldron. It was nine o'clock in the morning on Christmas Eve and even London seemed to have quieted down. Caelum had opted on walking here and enjoying the Christmassy morning. He'd woken up at six, completely refreshed and rested. Kreacher had been sleeping in his cot and Caelum had slipped out after transfiguring his cloak into a long muggle winter coat that hid his robes.

He'd stopped at a small café to eat breakfast and had gone through the papers Gobteeth had given him. He owned exactly the same properties here as he had in his own world. Grimmauld Place in London, Black Manor in Wales and La Tanière d'Ombre in France. He also had a seat on the Governing Board of Hogwarts and on the Wizengamot, and Blacks had been on record in Gringotts since its foundation.

Nothing new.

Now he stood in the cold, waiting for the right moment to enter. Yesterday it had been easy to push all his memories to the back of his mind because he'd been so tired and focused only on dealing with the goblins and legalizing his presence. He'd even managed to push most of his thoughts about Severus away.

But now he was wide wake and about to enter into a world he'd last enjoyed with Severus. A new beginning. A new chance at life.

Caelum took a deep breath, readying himself, and checked his glamour extended over his eyes, turning them black instead of the livid green they normally were. It was always good to be careful. Without thinking about it further he crossed the street and stepped into the pub. The Leaky Cauldron had not changed and as soon as Tom noticed him, the barman sauntered his way. He looked so young for a second Caelum had trouble believing this really was Tom. But even here he was just as bald and gummy walnut-looking as Caelum expected him to be. Though he now was carrying a lot more around the waist than in Caelum's memories. War did that to a person.

"What will it be, good sir?"

"Just passing through. I might stop by to eat lunch later, though." Caelum extended his hand and Tom gripped it easily. "Caelum Black, a pleasure to meet you."

"Just old Tom." The bartender's eyes had widened at his name and as always, he had to ask. "Of the British Blacks, you say?"

"Yes, actually. Current Head of the family. My magic overruled my brother Sirius's blood status and I claimed my seat last night." Tom was still gripping his hand, had probably completely forgotten that he still had a hold of it. The barman was openly gawking at him and the mage had to stop his smile from extending into a full-blown grin. People's reactions could actually be amusing to a point.

Carefully he extracted his hand from the hold Tom had on it, waved it and moved across the pub. "See you at lunch," he threw back as he entered the small, walled courtyard. Sighing in exasperation, the mage used his finger again as a substitution, sending small surges of magic into the bricks as he tapped them in the right order. Only when the archway slowly appeared he realized there had been good chance the order might have been different.

Without delaying it further, Caelum entered Diagon Alley.

New snow had coated everything and children very happily playing all around as their parents did their last minute shopping. Every shop was open and most had red and green decorations and posters declaring happy Christmas to all wizards and witches. The mage slowly walked forward, taking it all in but was careful not to even glance the apothecary – too many specific memories. It was weird seeing everything again and really looking at it. Comet 260... He'd probably crash and break it with him being accustomed to brooms light years ahead of these old series.

He walked past the Eyelops Owl Emporium, feeling a pang in his heart where Hedwig used to reside. He had bought another owl after her death but the nameless barn owl had only acted as a messenger. He knew he should probably get one now and entertained the idea of finding Hedwig again. However, he did not want to steal Harry's his first real friend. Even though he assumed Harry was alright with no mysterious news in the Prophet he still needed to check on the boy. He had not claimed the Potter name and now he was saving Hedwig for the boy without even knowing for certain his double in this world was alive and well. Still, better to assume he wa alright than to do something irreversible. Tampering with the Potter account would surely alert Dumbledore and Caelum could not ahve that happen. He would wait and simply establish himself in this world first.

There was a big crowd around Flourish and Blott's and Caelum picked out that apparently some Gilderoy Lockhart was giving out autographs in celebration of his newest book. Caelum had never heard of him and the glance he caught of the extravagantly dressed wizard already settled his opinion. The mage quickened his pace.

The first store he ended up entering was Ollivander's. Like Gobteeth's reaction last night had indicated, it was abnormal for a wizard not to own a wand. But Caelum was nervous for another reason entirely. Ollivander had been killed by Voldemort when Caelum had been sixteen. That was nearly ten years ago and the wizard had not missed the creepy old man one bit. Seeing him alive would be... disturbing at best. So far the mage had only dealt with Kreacher and goblins, and Ragnuk had been his closest friend among that race. From here on he'd be mingling among people, most of whom he'd seen die and some he'd even killed with his own hands. Tom had been a good friend of his and he never changed but seeing supposedly dead people walking...

He hadn't even considered the effect this might have on his mind.

The mage knocked once and entered, the familiar and nostalgic tinkling bell announcing his arrival. He let his senses stretch and reinforced his mental shields. Ollivander was one of the most powerful Legilimens he'd ever met. At least in his world.

And sure enough, the mage only needed to wait five seconds before feeling a gentle whisper against his shields and gleefully gave a little mental zap to the invader. The foreign presence reverted behind its own shields quickly after that and Caelum turned to look at the last descendant of the once proud High Elven race. Of course this Ollivander was far more human than elf but that did not change his ancestral roots.

"Ah... I'm sorry but who are you?" Caelum could tell Ollivander did not like being left in the dark. His usually soft voice had a slight strain on it.

"Caelum Black, at your service." The mage bowed his head respectfully. "I am need of a new wand. Your shop is greatly valued when it comes to the art of wandmaking."

"Someone of your age certainly has already had a wand. May I inquire what happened to it?"

"It snapped a while ago." Never good to give Ollivander information he didn't need. He was old, and a weak man to boost.

The tape measure was already measuring him on his own. Ollivander's wide silvery eyes grew even wider when the measure relayed him some unexpected information. Caelum was also not one to like being kept in the dark and raised his brow in a silent question.

"It appears you have owned and used quite a variance of wands. Seven, I believe?" Caelum could only nod. "And the reason your wands did not last was... because your magic was too strong for them to channel? You are intriguing." The wandmaker was already pulling out boxes from the ceiling high piles and arranged them on his desk.

Caelum waved the tape measure away and spoke: "I should warn you that two of those seven wands had to be custom-made."

"It also seems you use some other, unknown channel for your magic," Ollivander pointed out. Caelum shrugged with faked nonchalance that he was sure did not fool the old wandmaker for a second. No one would find out about his Staff and live. No one. "Well, we'll see, we'll see," Ollivander continued without a pause and passed him a wand. "Oak, dragon heartstring, 11 inches. Very strong."

Caelum stared at it for second then reached out his left hand to pick it up. He'd merely brushed it when the wand zoomed out of Ollivander's hand and burst to pieces. The both wizards stared at the splinters falling on the dusty floor. Even Caelum had never had such a violent reaction before.

"Oh my. You _are _a tricky customer." Ollivander turned to Caelum, his silvery eyes now shining with curiosity. "I believe a custom-make wand is indeed in order. Unless you feel drawn to anything in this room?"

Caelum looked around. He knew without a doubt where the holly and phoenix feather wand was and felt its pull. But it was not meant for him but for Harry. _His_ phoenix feather wand was safely tucked in the non-place where no one but Caelum could reach it. But as an answer to Ollivander's question, no, no _eligible_ wand drew his attention in the room. He shook his head.

"No matter, please follow."

Caelum walked after Ollivander who had quickly disappeared into the backroom of the shop. Unlike the main room, there was not a speck of dust in sight and it obviously was Ollivander's workshop, if one could judge by the amount of jars and different wood samples.

"You are aware of the process, Mr Black? After all, you have had two custom-made wands before." Caelum could hear in doubt in his soft voice, doubt whether or not Caelum should have another wand when they seemed so expendable to him.

The mage cocked his head to the side, ignoring Ollivander's opinions. "I am not a wandmaker but since you only have three core materials I would suggest dragon heart string from a fairly powerful dragon, preferably either a Hungarian Horntail or Peruvian Vipertooth. And many wands I've owned were made of maple."

If Ollivander was impressed by his knowledge, he did not show it. The wandmaker collected different jars and sticks and placed them on his spotless desk without looking at Caelum even once. The mage could see he had disturbed the old man greatly and that he would be glad to be rid of this particularly tricky customer.

Caelum wondered if Ollivander could see through his glamour. One night sleep had not been able to completely remove the dark rings around his eyes and the paleness of his skin. Not to mention when he'd looked into the mirror in the morning, he'd noticed his eyes actually shone with magic and power, even through his shields. Without his glamours he did no longer even look like a human, the deep green colour of his eyes ensured that.

Already one step ahead of the wandmaker, Caelum positioned his hand over the items. He channelled minimal amount of magic through it and pointed the heartstring and wood that resonated most. Ollivander nodded, a thoughtful look on his face. Caelum had always thought a wand could tell more about the wizard than any other tool and he was really curious as to what Ollivander had read of him.

"I do not know how long the wand will take. Where can I reach you?"

Caelum's eyebrows shot up. His world's Ollivander had _always_ known to the minute how long he'd be spending with each of Caelum's wands. Did the wandmaker have some ulterior motive? Did he intend to put a tracer on his wand? Or was he just cautious? However, resulting to threats or Legilimency now would only force the mage to find another wandmaker, and Ollivander was the best in Europe.

"I am currently staying in Grimmauld Place 12 in London. Send an owl." With a tight nod, Caelum left the shop.

When he got outside, he spent a couple of minutes just concentrating on his breathing. He needed to remember that this was not wartime, not even after-wartime. There were only few true veterans of war left and Caelum would do well to constrain his instincts. Normal people were not used to attitude like his. Look where it had gotten Mad-Eye Moony. The general public thought he was half crazy and only a handful of people took him seriously.

The mage scanned the street. He needed parchment, quills, a cauldron or two. An owl, perhaps a snake because of their refreshing conversational abilities. Robes. Scourgifies were useful but he had only so much variety in his non-place wardrobe and a change would be welcome and necessary. Therefore the man opted on heading past the Magical Menagerie and to Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions.

The place was luckily open and Caelum was immediately directed to Madam Malkin herself. The witch was happy to receive his order for an entire wardrobe and excited about his identity.

"Black, you say?" She lowered her voice. "Not a good reputation here in Britain, no offence to you, sir, of course. But since you've come from Australia I thought I'd tell you." Madam Malkin seemed shocked she'd just said that aloud.

Yes, Caelum had put her under a suggestive truth spell.

"I know my family has a Dark history, Madam. I'm trying to change our image. What do you think the reaction to my appearance will be?"

"Oh, nothing good, nothing good. You'll ruffle some feathers all right. An old family returning after such a long silence, it's going to make people nervous. That Malfoy, he's going to contact you soon, mark my words." Madam Malkin nodded decisively. "Fudge – he was just here a week ago – he'll be interested in allying you. Better be careful with who you trust."

"Thank you, Madam."

It took several hours but Caelum left the store with several packages filling up the non-space and his money pouch definitely lighter. He picked up writing equipment from the stationery shop and since the crowd at Flourish and Blott's seemed to have dispersed the wizard headed that way. He had a wonderfully peaceful time of selecting books on history and time travel. He also found the book _A Guide To Wizarding World – How To Avoid Embarrassment?_ that was actually written for muggleborns immigrating into wizarding society but it contained such mundane knowledge that Caelum wouldn't have found elsewhere and that he wanted to compare to his own knowledge. He also picked up _A Study of Recent Developments in Wizardry_, _Defensive Magical Theory_, _Most Potente Potions_ and _Olde and Forgotten Bewitchments and Charmes. _He was wholeheartedly glad he didn't have to actually carry all the packages he'd purchased.

Since it was late and it was actually starting to snow heavier, he walked back to the Leaky Cauldron to have that lunch he'd promised Tom. Apparently he wasn't the only one who had had that thought and the pub was filled with people chattering lividly with plates of food in front of them. Tom waved him to a free spot and Caelum shook of his cloak. He noticed Tom staring and grunted in annoyance. Yes, the cut of his clothes was different and he'd heard about it from Madam Malkin already. Fortunately the barman decided to keep silent.

"What will it be?"

"Ahm... Butterbeer? And whatever you recommend from the menu."

"Coming up." Tom gave him a grin and sauntered away to serve other customers.

Caelum's butterbeer arrived and he sat alone, sipping straight from the bottle, undisturbed by all the glances thrown his way. Rumours had apparently spread and people were curious even surrounded by the Christmas spirit. But Caelum had spent his entire life in the spotlight and ignoring the attention was now a second nature to him. He was more curious about the main article on Daily Prophet. The Sphere was again declaring Albus Dumbledore as the Supreme Mugwump and the entire incident was being swept under the rug as an elaborate joke. One problem solved.

Caelum's food arrived. Kidney pie. He ate with good appetite and even stole The Prophet from a neighbouring table. There was nothing especially interesting in it except for the main article. Christmas welcome and big advert on tonight's Ministry Ball. Caelum had gotten an invitation for it in his world but not in this one and he doubted crashing it was a good idea – even if it would be a great opportunity to meet the so called cream of wizarding society.

The barman came to check up on him a couple of times but was too busy to stay and talk. Caelum was quite satisfied with this arrangement because he hadn't prepared to create any kind of an image for himself. It wasn't a good idea to let the rumours brew to unimaginable heights but as Madam Malkin had suggested, he would probably be buried in owls after Christmas. Or maybe tomorrow already.

Caelum could tell many wizards and witches were gathering courage to come and introduce themselves to him so he paid and escaped to Diagon Alley to avoid dealing with them. He knew he should have gone to the apothecary to get ingredients but his feet froze and he couldn't enter. He'd last been there with Severus. For the past year he'd been shopping in France for his potions ingredients and brewing them in empty classrooms in Hogwarts. He hadn't been able to go to the dungeons even once. Same with the Diagon Alley Apothecary. The scents, the atmosphere... Everything reminded him of Severus. Caelum knew if he went in he'd faint of pain.

So he walked past the store, and didn't slow his pace until he reached the Magical Menagerie. A snake was what he needed. They could always make sense of the most problematic things and were so down-to-earth orientated that emotions did not make any sense to them. Still, they always had the most interesting answers.

"Hello, sir," the proprietor greeted him over all the noises of the animals. Suddenly the witch's eyes widened alarmingly behind her heavy black spectacles which really was the only warning Caelum needed. He already had the kneazle by the neck when the witch was only opening her mouth to shriek a warning.

Caelum handed the ginger coloured creature to the amazed owner. "I am not looking for a cat. Where would the snakes be?" The witch pointed a finger to her right and took the cat on her arms.

Caelum nodded his thanks and headed to where he was hearing Parseltongue already in use.

"_Moussse. Deliciousss mousse..."_

"_Ssstupid human... Wrap around..."_

"_Essscape... Trapped... Gone..."_

Mostly all the snakes were thinking of food or belittling their captors. But there was one green, about a foot long, that simply watched Caelum with interested through the glass of the terrarium. From the man's experience the observant ones were the best conversationalists. The mage leaned closer and made sure the witch was busy with the cat-kneazle.

"_Hello, little brother_," he whispered in Parseltongue. The snake raised his head and blinked his black eyes. The other snakes quieted down and turned to follow their exchange.

"_You ssspeak? Human ssspeaksss?"_

"_Would you like to come with me?"_ Caelum let the glamour fall from his eyes and the snake to see the magic he carried. A shiver ran through him. "_I have magic to ssshare and I promissse to never cage you._" The snake didn't seem convinced. "_And you can leave at any time. I look for a companion, not a ssslave._" The other snakes hissed their acceptances but Caelum did not spare them one glance. This one was different from the others and Caelum could sense his magic and power. If he was to get a snake, he might as well get one that would prove to be useful as something else than as a mere companion. It was not what he had been looking for, but a good leader never turned down an unexpected opportunity.

He opened the lid and let the snake slither up his arm. The green creature was just positioning himself around the mage's throat when a demanding screech drew his attention to the ceiling. From there a beautiful white hawk was regarding him curiously. Caelum extended his arm and the hawk glided down, carefully attaching herself to him. She had black on her tail and on the tips of her wing feathers and she was _beautiful._ Caelum opened his mind to her and saw that not only was she intelligent but she had decided to come with him. Somehow he got the impression she'd been looking for him for a while now.

"What're you- That's a poisonous snake! Mister!"

Caelum grabbed a hold of the witch's hand with his free one just as she was about to cast a spell on the snake around his throat. He only did not have any confidence in the witch's aim but the snake was magical and there was no telling what a spell might do.

"I am quite alright, Miss," he said soothingly and let go of her. "I'll take the snake, and the hawk has apparently decided to follow me anyway."

"She showed up yesterday, half-dead of fatigue. First time I see a White Hawk in Britain, and during the winter nonetheless." She was eyeing the snake distrustfully, clearly disturbed by the hissing. Caelum rubbed the snake's head with his thumb and the hissing rose in volume. The hawk shrieked and Caelum changed the subject of his attentions. The hawk seemed to enjoy a good scratch on the head.

"That'll be eleven galleons for the snake. And three sickles for the hawk's food from yesterday and this morning. You don't need any..." She swallowed uneasily, unable to take her eyes off the snake, "equipment?" She wasn't even offering information about the snake.

"No, I'll be fine." He ended up balancing the hawk on his left shoulder because trying to find the right amount of money from the pouch was just impossible with one hand. The snake and hawk eyed each other warily but seemed to accept each other easily enough. Both were very magical, after all.

Snowing had stopped and darkness had fallen when the mage got out of the crammed and noisy little shop. The stores were closing down and the world was preparing for Christmas. The snake immediately slithered inside his shirt to stay warm and the hawk pressed against his neck to shield herself from the cold. Caelum was just wondering if a muggle taxi would accept him and his companions when he felt a dark presence he hadn't sensed in over seven years and whirled around.

"Mr Caelum Black? Lucius Malfoy." The silver haired man offered his hand, expecting to get a response.

Caelum honestly did not know what to do.

* * *

A/N: That's it, an Easter treat for you guys, with a cliff-hanger. No chapter next week since I have exams and I'll be busy with those. The week after that I have many shifts at work so I don't know if I can get a chapter out even then. So it might be yet another long wait.

And I have another fic coming out for you, HPDM this time, and hopefully I'll get the first chapter out with the next chapter of OSSAS. It's called Many A Mind And Blood but Of Shadow, Shine and Shades will still be my top priority. MAMAB is more of something I write when OSSAS is taking me nowhere.

That's it. Happy Easter people!

_Revised 7/2011_


	6. Not So Subtle Threats

So it appears I did find some time to write this. Good for you guys. I fixed the spelling in earlier chapters.

Sorry, no new story. I have written 4000+ words but MAMAS chapters will be over 10 000 a piece. Just didn't have time for that as well and as I said OSSAS takes precedence.

Questions in reviews. Here are some answers:

**LillianaSnape212: **Yeah, did that and the hits skyrocketed. I was planning on doing it when Severus actually enters the story as himself but I always welcome hits and reviews :)

**Alicia Spinet, Kumiru-san: **Can't give out everything but to clear things up: Caelum is from an alternative world and he transported himself to "canon" world. I put canon in quotation marks because I'm adding things and using things from Rowling's interviews that often might be in contradiction with the books themselves and are therefore not read under canon. But I try not to go against any clearly stated facts like gender etc. And if I change something it will be strongly justified and usually due to the changes Caelum's presense causes. I try to base this on canon as well as I can.

Severus, Sirius and Dumbles... we shall see. I have plans but again everything is based on canon so...

**Rokkis: **I know what you mean. I used to pay too much attention to dialogue and the result resembled more a script to a play or a movie than a narrative story. Now I might pay too much attention to getting some thoughts in between, especially when Caelum is alone. But I'm also all the time excluding details and explanations. There is just so much I want to include in the story. Anyway, it's part of my present style and hopefully in the future I'll learn to balance. Should be easier with Caelum interacting with others. Thanks for the critique :)

And thank you for everyone else that cared to review!

I think I also should give credits. This fic would not be possible without the wonderful creations of hp-lexicon and . The two sites have helped me immensely and I want to thank everyone who has contributed to these sources.

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and no money is made with this.

* * *

OF SHADOW, SHINE AND SHADES by dra6on

Chapter 5. Not So Subtle Threats

Blood, silver hair marred with blood. Tangled. Bruises on the neck. Cruel laughter in his ears. No death by magic for Lucius Malfoy.

Caelum had strangled him with his own hands.

And laughed in the dead man's face.

The mage had to blink away the hallucination that for a moment blended with his reality. He realized Lucius was still extending his hand and was beginning to get anxious, and that soon Caelum would have to give an answer of some kind. Just what exactly? His body was screaming for him to act, to erase a possible threat before it became one. But logic told him this Lucius had yet to do anything to harm him and it was not up to Caelum to kill another man without a real cause. But even this reasoning was not strong enough to force him to touch this... man. He was so tense he knew his body would soon take over and... take revenge he still owed the Dark wizard. So he smiled, though it came out more as a grimace.

"What a surprise to run into you here. On Christmas Eve, nonetheless." Lucius retrieved his hand when it became apparent Caelum was not going to grasp it, only answer him verbally. The Dark wizard's eyes were now cold, calculating, and he seemed to be just as aware of the looks they were receiving from the passersby as Caelum was. Additionally the snake tightened around Caelum's neck in response to the Dark magic Lucius seemed to carry with him. How everyone around them couldn't sense it, Caelum did not understand. The hawk on his shoulder preened her feathers but Caelum could feel her tense as her claws dug into his shoulder. "What can I do for you?" Caelum managed a passable smile and in his opinion it was more than Lucius Malfoy – no matter which dimension's – deserved from him.

"Word travels fast. When someone of Black blood steps forward to claim the name, people get curious. And of course I have a personal interest." Lucius nodded. "I am, after all, married to a Black."

"Yes, I look forward to meeting Narcissa and Draco." The mage tried to inconspicuously loosen the snake's hold on his throat. He couldn't hiss nor reveal the snake's presence to someone like Lucius. Scratch that. He better not reveal his serpentish tendencies to _anyone_. And first mind contact always took time and eye contact to establish so that was not an option either.

"My wife was quite interested to find out about you. Perhaps I could invite you to a dinner tomorrow?" The man smiled apologetically. "Or of course you would be welcome to join myself and my family at the Ministry Ball tonight. The Ministry being what it is I doubt an invitation has reached you." Malfoy smiled in what anyone else might have described as charmingly. Too bad for him Caelum had no intentions of letting Malfoy dominate his entrance into the wizarding politics."

"I am sorry to disappoint but I already have a prior engagement tonight." The snake finally loosened his hold and Caelum could turn his full attention to the Dark wizard in front of him. "And I couldn't possibly intrude on a family Christmas dinner. Perhaps some other time? I have settled in Grimmauld Place and you can owl me?" It was sheer survival instinct that had him offer. The same instinct made him continue, "I do look forward to meeting relatives but I have been in the country only for three days and would like to get more settled first. I am sure you can believe the house especially isn't in its best shape after Walburga."

"Yes." Was that mirth in Lucius' eyes? Was Caelum amusing the Dark wizard someway? Dark thoughts and memories fought to be recognized as he flashed on another occasion when Lucius had been _amused_. "I remember one quite unforgettable painting of her." What? Oh, yes, Walburga.

"It is no more. One of the first things I took care of. Please give my apologies to your wife if she found the painting... acceptable." Caelum gave his old enemy an impromptu grin, more out of confusion than anything else. How did one behave when he came face to face with a man he had personally killed? Without warning Lucius chuckled and Caelum had stop himself from gawking. Who was this man? Or was it all for show?

Most probably.

"You will be sure to hear from me. Good evening, Mr. Black." Lucius Malfoy dipped his head in relaxed manner.

"To you as well." Caelum watched as the older wizard walked away and distracted himself by guiding his hawk to take a hold of his fingers. He gazed into her blue eyes that betrayed the magic she carried and sent images of Grimmauld Place into her thoughts. Shopping was over and he had no patience to just take a cab. The hawk cocked her head, understanding dawning in her eyes, and took flight with a couple of graceful beats from her wings. The snake pushed his head free of Caelum's robe.

"_We go to nessst now_?"

"_Yesss._"

Caelum made sure he was safe to Dissapparate and did so, soundlessly. The snake hissed his displeasure as Caelum laid him on the table and opened the street level window to allow the hawk entrance.

"_What are you called?"_ Caelum asked the snake. He lifted four inches of his body off the table and tasted the air, all the while keeping his black eyes on the mage. His body was the same shade of green as grass, which Caelum thought worked excellently as camouflage, and his belly was the colour of sand. Every time his split tongue would sneak out the mage would glimpse on impressive teeth that probably dripped with poison.

"_Sssyl. You are not a massster._"

"_No, I am no one'sss massster. Caelum isss my name and you my call me that if you decide to ssstay._"

Syl nodded and Caelum started on tea. Kreacher had actually managed some organizing before the breakdown and he'd taken care of most of the dust before his ordered dinner last night. The mage sighed in defeat as he rummaged through the cabinets searching for some tea – he had no talent for magically brewed one. But that was not the issue he was worried about. The house was big and cleaning it alone would take weeks, if not months. And he couldn't hire anyone to do the job, not with all the dark objects lying around. Kreacher was no good.

Not to mention, he still was annoyingly indecisive about staying. Though he was making leaving harder and harder with every action he took, he still had responsibilities in his world. But nobody actually _needed _him there. _Here_ he could do so much more. There were differences but nothing major so it was pretty safe to assume this world would face yet another war with Voldemort and who to better fight him than someone who'd already _killed _him in another dimension. And if doing so he spared the younger Harry some heartache all the better.

_Hermione will cry herself to sleep for years. Everyone will assume I killed myself. Does it matter? No. I just wish there was a way to contact them... I feel like a coward just leaving everything behind without a warning. But how could I? Could I send some interdimensional signal that would alert everyone in the world? _Everyone _would then come after me. _

He gave up on the search and just conjured himself a cup of tea that, unsurprisingly, tasted like boiled water.

"Master?"

Caelum turned his eyes to the door from where Kreacher was peeking at him. The elf looked appalled to be talking to him but Caelum could see the pepper-up potion had worked wonders on the ancient elf even if it was temporary. There was a shine – though it was one of disgust – in the creature's eyes and crying had cleared his face. Plus, the elf had remembered to keep his distance.

"Yes? Please enter. I want to introduce you."

The elf came in slowly but froze when his eyes landed on the snake curiously staring back at him. The mage saw the elf's eyes grow bigger and bigger until he was sure they'd pop out of Kreacher's head. He cleared his throat, thus catching his servant's attention. "Kreacher, this is Syl. _Sssyl, thisss isss my ssservant, Kreacher. He callsss me Massster though I do not require it._"

"_I sssee._" The snake hissed at the elf indignantly and slithered to Caelum, making himself at home around his throat that apparently was becoming his favourite spot.

"Master speaks to snakes?" There was genuine wonder in the elf's voice and when Caelum turned his eyes on him, he saw respect. _Well, that was easy._ The man hid his amusement.

"Yes, I do. You are to never mention my Parseltongue talent again. Not unless I as your Master first speak of it to you. Understand?" The elf nodded. "Good. I have acquired a hawk as well and she should be here soon." He glanced at the open window and wished his bird of prey would hurry so he could close it. It was starting to be chilly in the kitchen and putting up temperature barriers now would be pointless. "You will bother neither of them. You had something for me?"

"Yes, the owls have been coming all morning." Kreacher snapped his fingers and a dozen or so letters appeared on the table. Caelum nodded his thanks and Kreacher disappeared somewhere to ponder on his findings on the new Master.

Caelum sighed in exasperation and truly wished he wouldn't have to kill the old elf.

He turned his attention to the letters. How people had found out about him so fast, he could only guess. Maybe it was Gringotts protocol to notify the Ministry when powerful Heads of families popped into existence out of nowhere. Caelum was also painfully aware that he had no real proof of his identity except for the Black family ring, and if someone wanted to dig dirt on him – or any information for that matter – they wouldn't find anything. Or perhaps wizards just gossiped enough for the word to have travelled during his shopping and public lunch.

One from Lucius – as he'd expected – and two from the Ministry; one from Fudge and the other from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. The rest were from individual wizards, a couple of the names Caelum even recognized. There, however, was not one from Dumbledore or from Hogwarts. The man wondered where Andy had ended up in this world. He picked up the unopened letters and made his way to the first floor and the drawing room to check on the tapestry there. His feet left footprints in the dust and he wondered whether it'd be inconsiderate to start cleaning on Christmas Eve and send dust tornadoes all over the street.

Perhaps he'd wait.

The drawing room was in a pitiful state, thick dust coating covering every surface. Caelum hit his fist against the wall, causing dust and pieces of paper to fall down but at least now the tapestry was readable. It was much like he'd expected, but there were even more burnt spots on the wall. If Caelum remembered correctly two of the spots had read Cedrella and Alphard in his world but here – for some "unacceptable" decisions – they'd been removed. But so was Andy's name, and Caelum looked forward to seeing if she'd discovered herself here as well.

The writing desk rattled and the mage whirled around, his Staff materializing to his hand. The Emerald was already glowing in anticipation. But before he blew up the desk to smithereens Caelum reached out with his mind and relaxed immediately. Just a boggart. And apparently doxies in the curtains and some heavy dark magic everywhere. Luckily some clerk had overlooked the existing floor connection so the fireplace was still usable. If only he had Floo powder, that is.

The Staff floated off his grip but did not go far, clearly expecting for him to realize what was wrong. He didn't, not until Syl moved around his neck. "Oh... _Sssyl, thisss isss my Living Emerald, the core of my mightiessst magic._ This is Syl, he agreed to accompany me." The Emerald flashed into the same shade of green that Syl wore and the snake dipped his head out to look at it.

"_Ssstone that thinksss? Ssstrange._" Syl came out enough to turn to look Caelum in the eyes. "_You are interesssting. I chossse well... Ressst now. Magical travel isss tiring._" The snake withdrew back around his neck and dozed off. Caelum wondered if he had meant him as well. He was tired but not exhaustingly so. But maybe it would be good to start on a regular sleeping pattern. Might help with his mental adaptation to this world.

Translation: Keep him from going crazy.

The Staff floated around the room and its light cast shadows where there shouldn't have been ones. Pretty dark objects in the room to cause that anomaly. Caelum strode to the fireplace to inspect it while his Staff conducted its own search. The fireplace was flanked by ornate glass-fronted cabinets and the mage spied a box on the appendage of the mantelpiece. Bingo. Floo powder, and Caelum still sensed some magic in it. The mage pointed his finger and commanded, "_Ventus_."

Immediately a strong gust of wind blasted into the fireplace and up the chimney taking all the dust and ash with it. There was no firewood in sight and he put it on the shopping list, right under Harry and food supplies.

"I think we should start with filling up the kitchen and cleaning it up. And my bedroom as well," Caelum told his Staff, basically just thinking aloud. Screw the muggles, the place _needed_ cleaning. "Then this room and the hallways. People are going to want to visit and I can't leave things as they are." He sighed. "It'd be so much easier if Kreacher was helping but it's gonna take more time." The Emerald flickered its agreement, as well as its disappointment in the elf. "Give him time. I have yet to even explain everything to him. Do you think I should? Explain _everything_, I mean?"

The Emerald flashed such brilliant green that Caelum had to rub his eyes to get rid of the red spots that appeared in his vision. "I'll take that as a no then." He realized he was still wearing the long muggle winter coat and that now when he was no longer in the chilly kitchen it was beginning to get suffocatingly hot. He sighed and spelled the big windows open, figuring the hawk would find her way inside better through a more visible entrance and the drawing room anyway really needed a good venting. That was one thing off his growing list. The man looked at the letters he was still gripping in his hand and discarded them to the non-space, out of the way. They could wait for a while. Even though, he really was not thrilled about his next tasks.

Rest of Caelum's afternoon was spent opening packages and cleaning his bedroom and kitchen. He even managed to clear up the black spot on the ground floor wall his disposing of Walburga's painting had left behind. The hawk made an appearance around six in the evening just when Caelum was getting ready to find some food. She landed on his shoulder with no explanation as to how she had gotten through doors down into the kitchen. Caelum had to build her a nest on top of the ice box to get her to let him leave alone. He needed to Apparate to a gas station to buy some necessary food supplies because every other place was closed for the Christmas. If the clerk was weirded out by his appearance out of nowhere, he didn't show it.

_If I ever again participate in dimensional travel, I'll be sure _not_ to do it during universal holidays_, the mage thought while unpacking the overpriced groceries into the kitchen cabinets and fridge. The place was now sparkling clean, much like he remembered, but the atmosphere was still dark and musty. He would have to do a magical cleansing if he wanted to really live here for longer periods of time. And that could only be done after a thorough traditional cleaning.

"Kreacher?" the man called once he had a cup of decent tea in front of him and had gone through in his head what he could and couldn't tell the elf. His Staff flashed to his side without being summoned, clearly to make sure he didn't blabber away with all his secrets. _Nice trust in me you have_, Caelum thought and it gleamed, further evidence for his belief that they now shared an open mind connection. If one could say the Emerald _had _a mind.

The elf popped to the door, still keeping his distance. He received an absentminded nod of appreciation from Caelum and the mage motioned for him to take a seat. The elf did not move his feet.

"Kreacher..." How tell the elf he didn't need a servant but a confidant? That'd preferable become a friend? "I do not demand absolute subservience. I did not grow up to become a master of anyone, and I respect living creatures, no matter their position. You can remain standing or you can sit if you want but you should make yourself comfortable for what I'm about to tell you."

The elf regarded him with his pale blue eyes. "Master has power Kreacher cannot speak of. Master burned down Mistress' painting. Kreacher does not know what to think." The creature was uncharacteristically open about its thoughts.

"I tell the public one story and another to those I trust. You will hear only the truth from me but I cannot tell you everything. Since we only met yesterday and I do not have a habit of trusting anyone easily." Caelum sipped his tea. "I am telling the public I am Orion Black's illegitimate son he had with a half-blooded witch." He could see disgust appear on the elf's face and was fast to explain: "As far as I know your Master never betrayed his wife but I cannot tell the public truth. I am actually Sirius' son through blood adoption."

"The blood traitor's son! Filth... Kreacher knew." But then the elf seemed confused. "But is Dark. Kreacher knows..."

"I'm more Dark than I am Light, Kreacher," Caelum admitted. "I've killed and tortured and enjoyed every bit of it. That's what I do to my enemies. But I have nothing against muggles, especially. Or against muggleborns." Caelum shrugged. "It is important you know this. I accept Dark, and even embrace it, but when Voldemort rises again I will stand against him. And I will kill him." Caelum looked deep into the elf's eyes, willing him to understand. "Know this as well: you can behave as you like. You can creep in the hallways and badmouth me behind my back. It is your freedom of will. But if you ever stand against me or speak of my affairs to anyone without my explicit permission... I will kill you." The elf shivered of fear. It was clear in his eyes that Caelum had gotten through to him.

"Master is Dark?" the creature asked in a tiny yet raspy voice.

Caelum let his face relax and smiled. "Yes, Kreacher."

"Kreacher has to think."

Caelum finished his tea. This Kreacher seemed much more self-conscious than the elf Caelum had learned to know. His Kreacher could only repeat the thoughts of his masters but this one really thought of himself as "me". Caelum did not have a lot experience with house elves. He'd only known Dobby, Kreacher and the elves at Hogwarts. But as always, he figured respect got you far. "I do not demand an answer. These are the simple rules. You are only allowed to talk to me, unless I give a separate permission. You will not leave the house without notifying me and getting permission. Also, no notes or any kind of communication that you suspect I might disapprove of. Ask permission." He turned his tone tentative. "I would appreciate help around the house but it is not necessary. I noticed you live in that... hole. You can choose a bedroom for yourself, if you like. And like I said, I do not demand an answer now, maybe not ever. As long as you abide by the rules. Is there anything you'd like to know? Or something you'd like me to do?"

He had obviously overloaded the elf with information and Kreacher looked positively lost. The mage took pity on him. "How about I inform you every time I leave the house? And if there are any great changes I will try to ask your opinion? Sometimes that of course is not possible." He summoned the pile of letters he'd earlier ignored from the non-place. "Now, you are welcome to stay but I have letters to read and I'd appreciate it if you didn't bother me while I do that?" Maybe he was being overly polite but it seemed to work. Kreacher bowed – for the first time – and popped out of the kitchen. Caelum listened for a while, deciding leaving the ancient creature alone for now was the best option, and sliced open the letter from Lucius. After checking it for malevolent magic.

_To Mr Caelum Black_

_Following our meeting this afternoon I, Lucius Malfoy, took it upon myself to bring your appearance to the attention of Britain Minister of Magic, one Cornelius Fudge. He was quite impressed and will certainly write to you at the first possible opportunity. I tell you this as a gesture of my good will._

Caelum nearly snorted. More like trying to procure a favour from him.

_I believe as Heads of powerful and old wizarding families it would certainly be productive for us to establish good relations between our families that already have been united through marriage and blood. As you expressed your inability to attend dinner tomorrow night at Malfoy Manor, I invite you to enjoy breakfast in mine and my family's company at ten in the morning on Boxing Day. My wife and son look forward to meeting you. I expect your owl._

_Respectively yours,_

_Lucius Malfoy_

He should go. He should meet with Lucius. But... he'd be walking into the enemy's camp without backup. Always have someone to secure your back – that kept you alive. Granted, Lucius had no idea they were enemies but still...

Syl moved against his neck and Caelum smiled. He'd have backup, of sorts. The snake was unlikely to let him go anywhere alone and, if he indeed was walking into a trap, the serpent's poisonous fangs might prove to be the difference between getting out of there alive and dying.

The mage set the letter aside and grabbed the one from Fudge. He ripped it open, the Staff starting to hover around the room yet again. He gave it a suspicious glance before turning his eyes on the written words of the current Minister of Magic. It was basically a welcoming letter and invitation/request to come and introduce himself at the Ministry. Fudge sounded like a self-important fool that took himself far too seriously. Caelum puffed his cheeks in annoyance. Politics, he _hated _politics. Of course he knew his way around and knew if need be he could be a major player but he never enjoyed participating in the game. Interestingly enough there was not a mention of Malfoy in the letter. Had Fudge already known about him through some other route? Or was the man actually something more that just his sponsors' boot licker? Did he think to garner Caelum's attention and influence on his side in this hated game of politics?

"But of course there is no way to avoid it," he muttered. At least he could use this as an excuse to get inside the Ministry and – should opportunity reveal itself – also take a look around the Archives. He needed to know more about his supposed mother, Diana Miles, and the search might even be legalized through the Minister. At the same time he could take a look at other documentation.

In quick succession he went through all the letters from curious wizards and witches. The same: introductions, invitations, inquiries of his plans. He was stunned by the boldness of some of them but then had to remember yet again that here he was not the Saviour or the Defeater of Dark Lords Voldemort and Apophis. Here he was a halfblood –he was saying he had a muggle grandfather after all, not that anyone knew about it yet – Head of a prominent wizarding family, and everyone was suspicious and curious about him. His young age did not help the matters either, it only made it easier for people to approach him.

"This better be worth all the trouble," he grunted, before reaching for the last letter, the one from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.

_Mr Black,_

_it has come to the attention of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement that you entered this country without informing the authorities of your arrival. As it is the Christmas holidays, we expect you to register yourself at the Auror Department only on January 3__rd__._

_Please owl us if you are unavailable at the aforementioned date. Otherwise an Auror will arrive at 12 o'clock to escort you to the Ministry of Magic._

_Amelia Bones,_

_Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement_

Caelum did a quick calculation in his head. The 3rd was Thursday and he really had no reason to refuse. He remembered Susan when the news had reached them in Hogwarts about her aunt's death. They had never been really close but only happened to be in Owlery at the same time. It had been one of the first times Caelum had had to comfort anyone who'd lost a member of family. Later on it had become a routine, something as a leader and icon he was required to do and something he hardened his heart for, but at 16 he still felt too much to... only show sympathy, not be empathic. He hoped meeting Amelia Bones would be easy since he'd never met her before.

_Easier than meeting Lucius and Draco, at least._ He looked at the letter and hit himself in the forehead. He hadn't bought an owl, was he an idiot? And every place would be closed by now. His eyes fell on the hawk and he scoffed at the idea that was forming in his mind. Somehow he couldn't picture a hawk making a delivery. He rose from his chair and walked to the ice box to give her a good scratch on the head. She needed a name. Calling her hawk was not only insulting but would become annoying soon.

"A name, huh? You wouldn't happen to have ideas?" The hawk closed her eyes in contentment and Caelum let the link between them open. It was part of how his mind worked. Once he'd established a connection he needed to consciously close it or it would stay in existence. Sev had theorized it had something to do with Caelum's abandonment issues, that he did not want to let people go and subconsciously kept a hold of them. The connection between the mage and his lover had nearly reached the stage of telepathy. It had almost been as if they shared a mind.

Caelum smiled sorrowfully and turned his attention to his new companion before the pain could engulf him again. She was dreaming of flying above a jungle. The sun was high on the sky and miles of green stretched out beneath her. She screamed her joy to the world and swooped down, going too fast for her mind to really follow, relying completely on her instincts and body to keep her from crashing.

Caelum opened his eyes and watched as her wings twitched in her sleep, following the patterns she was flying in the dream. He had the perfect name.

"Citala."

She opened her blue eyes and Caelum felt her acceptance. Syl chose this moment to poke his head out and taste the air. "_White Wingsss hasss bonded to you. I have to ssshare you_?" The snake was definitely unpleased.

Wow. Syl apparently had problems with playing nice with others. Caelum wanted to ask him how old he was and how magic affected him but felt fixing the relations between his two companions was more important. "_I do not have favouritesss. You and Citala... and Kreacher are all important._" He repeated the same in English so that Citala could understand as well. The snake and hawk gave him identical blinks and the man had to suppress a snigger. At least they seemed accepting enough.

"_Sssyl_," he hissed, getting the snake's attention. "_I would like to form a mind connection with you. I already have one with Citala. It would let usss ssshare our mindsss_."

"_I would know your mind_?" The snake let out a long meaningless hiss before nodding. Caelum unwound him from around his neck and looked deep into the black eyes that from closer inspection seemed to have a slight purple hue. He touched the mind of the reptile and gasped. He had rarely spoken to snakes from mind to mind because they could simply talk but Syl was different. Caelum felt like...

"_Sssyl, were you living in Egypt during the time of pharaohsss_?"

"_Sssnakesss die when we choossse to_." That seemed to be end of that. Caelum withdrew back into his own mind from the influx of history and experiences he'd faced in the snake's cold and calculating thoughts. He did not know what to say. He was now connected to a creature that had lived for a millennia. Albeit everything he'd seen in his short glimpse had been from a snake's point of view – and they weren't famous for taking interest in humans – it had been a lot. He'd survived two wars, and they'd left their scars on him, but he was still so young, so young.

Citala jumped on his shoulder causing Caelum to nearly drop Syl in surprise. The mage was glad to feel the two connections settle on the background of his mind without any problems. They felt as different as Citala and Syl were. They weren't bonds yet, even if Syl had claimed so, but there was a good possibility they'd soon develop into ones.

He wished it would happen sooner rather than later. Citala and Syl apparently had decided to get close to him and he was still slightly suspicious of the two. Though animals rarely lied, they were capable of spinning the truth and Caelum was uncomfortable with all the coincidences that kept occurring. In what reality did one walk into a pet shop only to find an ancient snake and a White Hawk that seemed to be waiting for him? _Apparently in this one. Or then someone is having the greatest laugh of their life on my behalf._

The Staff flashed to be recognized and Caelum gave it an annoyed glance. Apparently it thought he needed his sleep and was being its pestering self.

He turned to Citala. "Can you carry a letter for me?" The hawk cocked her head and screeched haughtily. Caelum immediately summoned a quill and parchment and wrote his reply for Malfoy with a flourish in his handwriting that only appeared when he was nervous.

_Lucius will get a wrong impression and it will lead him further away from the truth. It's better that way._ He put the pen down.

"To Malfoy Manor, Lucius Malfoy. Don't stay for the night. It's too dangerous."

Citala tugged him on a hair strand before receiving the letter and taking flight through the window Caelum opened for her. The Staff bumped demandingly against his back after he'd set up wards to allow the hawk's return even in the middle of the night. It had grown to its full length again and Caelum was pretty sure that was for the purpose of threatening him with spanking.

The mage sighed in fond exasperation. "Yes, Mother."

As he walked through the dark hallways up to his bedroom, the mage couldn't help but scowl at all the darkness he felt and saw. How was putting up shrunken house elf heads fashionable? Even if they had been servants of the family? Some dark traditions made him completely understand why so many families were sworn to Light.

Shaking his head the mage entered the bedroom and stripped to his boxers. He glanced at the bathroom door, wondering if he should get in a shower. The cover-up on his body was starting to feel like a thin sheet covering his skin. Of course Sev had perfected the make-up and it could last up to three days before starting to itch but he wanted to get rid of it. There was just... He looked at Syl who was happily wound amongst his clothing on the bed and with a simple prod was confirmed to be sleeping. He somehow did not want to reveal the marking on his body to a snake he'd only met today. Kreacher had seen him but he'd known Kreacher and he knew no magic could make the elf go against his direct order. Syl again...

He sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose before entering the bathroom and scrubbing his skin raw under the warm matter. The tattoo was positively shining on his skin by the end of the shower, and he pulled out a pair of loosely fitting trousers he'd purchased at Madam Malkin's. He really needed to get to a muggle clothing store as fast as he could. He didn't mind going commando all the time but he also had abhorred the underwear selection at wizarding clothing stores. Well, after the holidays.

The mage happily climbed in the bed and settled down for a good night sleep, the Staff disappearing into non-space now that its mage was finally resting.

Caelum's mind went running on its own path as he allowed himself relax. The wards in the room were humming comfortably and he didn't even care that his magic was acting up with them, or the Staff keeping things from him. He just needed to accept it and let it slide. Good plan... The mage was already half-asleep when a stray thought made him shot up in bed so suddenly it elicited a hiss from Syl at the movement.

Oh Merlin.

He'd forgotten about Harry.

* * *

A/N: Tried drawing Caelum's tattoos. Ended up looking like a grey brain tattooed on his forehead (= why I don't draw). Let's see if I can get a friend of mine to sketch them. Chapter 6 next week.

_Revised 7/2011_


	7. Finding a Solution

I'm an idiot. Or then just careless. I was checking the lexicon for some information and happened upon the Black family tree. Go check it if you want to know what I found out. Well, the result is that I ended up changing quite a bit of the beginning of the story because I try to keep this world as canon as possible.

So the plans changed but we still see some interesting characters.

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and no money is made with this.

* * *

OF SHADOW, SHINE AND SHADES by dra6on

Chapter 6. Finding a Solution

The mage shot out of the bed and was out in the hallway before he even realized he was still only wearing trousers that were only nearly hanging on his hips and that his tattoo was visible for all the world to see. He couldn't go to Brighton like this.

So he turned on his heels and returned to get some acceptable clothing from the wardrobe that he'd filled with his earlier purchases. He was pulling a robe over his head to cover his naked torso when he felt a cold touch on his ankle and literally jumped – on top of the wardrobe door. The hinges barely held.

"_What isss thisss? You are marked_," Syl complained but Caelum was too busy to get down from his involuntary perch to pay attention to the snake. He stared at the door for a long while, wondering how in seven hells had he been able to jump five feet straight upwards like it was nothing. Then his initial hurry settled in.

"_Sssyl, I forgot to do sssomenthing. I will return ssshortly._" He yanked the robe in place and summoned his coat that still looked like a long muggle one. He would have Apparated if not for Syl springing and draping himself around his shoulders and neck. "_What are you doing_?" he demanded. The snake tightened around him and he readied himself to blast the reptile off.

"_The ssstone told you to sssleep. I told you to sssleep. White Wingsss agreesss. Why won't you ressst_?" He sounded pretty annoyed at being forced to act as a babysitter. Caelum took a deep breath, readying himself to slash at the green snake. But the words died in his mouth. What _was_ his hurry? Why was getting to see Harry such a compulsion? He backed and sat on his bed. Syl slithered onto his lap.

"_What isss it_?"

"_I do not know_." Caelum took a deep breath, searching for the answer inside him. Why was it important? Why did he feel such a need to make sure Harry was alright? _Because I'm him? Because I need to be sure I didn't harm another innocent accidentally? But the holly wand was in the shop and I still have mine. Why would it be any different with living things? The tree and phoenix were alive before being turned into a wand. The whole world of magic is alive_, he pondered while slowly scratching Syl's head. He did not find an answer but could still feel the need to ascertain his younger self's safety.

He was just about to ask Syl if he agreed to come with him instead when a bell rang downstairs. The mage sat up straighter and summoned the Staff to his hand. He listened. One, two, three... Four times the bell rang announcing arrivals by floo.

_How could I forget to ward the house and the floo? But still... only related blood should be able to come through. If Narcissa and Draco are two of them, who are the others? Or maybe enemies?_

"_Hide_," he hissed at Syl that had also heard the bells and obeyed without objection. Caelum sent the Staff away and was already applying cover-up on his face, neck and right hand when Kreacher popped next to him. Giving himself out was stupid and he could wandlessly take care of any four people.

"Who are they?" he asked the elf. The ancient creature gave a little bow.

"Blood of the Mistress and Master. Shall Kreacher welcome them?"

"No." Caelum tied his hair back. "Stay out of sight. You may listen but remember: you are not allowed to talk to any of them. I'll take care of them."

The house elf obviously wanted to object but at Caelum's cold glare bowed again and disappeared. The mage checked the tattoo and nodded in acceptance. Then he hid the true colour of his eyes. If these were Black relatives of his he needed to be as Black as he possibly could. It was fortunate the blood adoption had changed his features or any pureblood could have recognized the Potter characteristics.

He slowly exited the bedroom and slid along the hallways. He could hear voices from the Drawing room and narrowed his eyes in concentration. His senses confirmed there were three women and one man in the room and all were elderly. _Who the hell are they? _he wondered. Regulus had been the only Black he'd dealt with and here the brothers' situations were almost reversed. Unless his "brothers" had done the impossible and risen from grave and escaped from Azkaban there was no knowing who these people were.

Syl hissed against his throat and Caelum stopped at the open door. He already had a Disillusionment charm covering himself and it would be impossible for the people to see or sense him. He glided into the room, quiet as a ghost. The four were conversing in hushed tones and Caelum absently wondered where Kreacher was – the house elf would never miss a chance like this.

"Impossible, cousin," the silver haired woman with a confident aura replied to something Caelum had missed. "The Gringotts have made a mistake, it would be their first but still. You gave your status to Orion and Sirius inherited it. That some _mudblood _came and claimed it is atrocious and the goblins will pay for the insult."

"They were quite adamant," said the other silver haired woman though her hair still held some black streaks, betraying the characteristic Black hair. "I have never even heard of a letter from a prince and we _all _received one. Even for one of questionable parentage that speaks quite volumes." She sighed. "Haven't we gone through this already? Besides, the house was open. It has not been so since Alby's death."

The other two, both white haired and ancient looking, nodded. Caelum wanted to cuss. Instead he cancelled the Disillusionment charm.

"It is quite late for quests," he said coldly, surprising all four and causing them to draw their wands and the man to shoot a _Stupefy_ in his direction. Caelum sidestepped it easily and raised his brow. "You are in my house and the only reason you still live is that you apparently are of Black blood. Explain yourselves."

The confident one scoffed. "As if I need to explain myself to a _filthy_-" She was suddenly silenced when Caelum hit her with an invisible silencing charm. Her eyes bulged out but the mage ignored her and turned his attention to the man while narrowing his eyes and raking his memory. The tapestry helped quite a bit when he now knew to pay attention to the dates.

"You are... Arcturus Black, I believe. Melania." He nodded to them and turned his attention to the others. Lucretia, Cassiopeia and Callidora were the only names he could come up with, assuming this dimension was the same as his. Unless they were glamoured... He cast several revealing spells in quick succession, only the light of the spells indicating he was doing anything at all. All four seemed wordless at his performance of wandless and silent casting.

"Names?" he prompted when the silence had gone on long enough in his opinion.

"I am Lucretia," Lucretia answered with a smile. "And this is Cassiopeia." She pointed at the silenced witch who now seemed to have opted for fuming in her forced silence.

"Pleasure." Caelum nodded, keeping the cold appearance. "I might have appreciated the visit more in the morning." _Or never_, he quietly added at the back of his mind.

"We apologise." Arcturus' voice was dry and raspy and Caelum vaguely recalled all four were to die within two years. He glanced again at the tapestry and sighed mentally.

"Would you like to come to the kitchen? Unfortunately that and my bedroom are the only rooms in habitable state at the moment and I can offer you some... midnight tea?" He turned his back on the people, calling up the family magic to protect him if one of them decided cursing him was their best option. However, nothing happened and he arrived downstairs unscathed for the moment. His mind was racing on high-speed and he was pretty sure if he didn't slow down, he'd end up crashing over a cliff. Okay, one: he couldn't kill them all because a Black massacre on Christmas would draw attention – not to mention he'd be the prime suspect – and two: what did they want that he could offer?

The four entered the kitchen just as he was spelling tea to brew itself and cups to float on the table. Everything with flicks of his wrists and fingers. Citala crooned from her nest and flapped on the table where she started to stare down the four guests that seemed disturbed by a blue-eyed White Hawk. Or then it was by the careless use of wandless and silent magic with no effect on the precision of the spell. The fidgeting increased as Caelum smiled at Citala, glad she'd already made it home.

"What happened to the painting of Alby?" Melania asked suddenly. Caelum glanced at her. She was a McMillan from her own family and the features showed. But Black magic dominated the McMillan as they were only pure nine generations back. In Melania's case seven. All her children would have had the traditional look of Black family. As Lucretia did.

"The painting in the hallway? She was screaming her hair off, wouldn't shut up so I burned her off the wall."

Lucretia gasped. "But she used a Dark Sticking Charm... And there is no..." She quieted as the cold box door seemed to open on its own and milk and cream and honey floated on the table, seemingly without any indication from Caelum. She swallowed.

"What is your full name?" Arcturus asked, taking control of the conversation as Caelum joined them at the table. The young man took the cup of ready tea floating in front of him and sipped before answering.

"Caelum Orion Black, and since yesterday the Head of Black family." He snapped the ring into existence and not one of his quests seemed able to take their eyes of it. Cassiopeia seemed very eager to talk and Caelum, after careful consideration, nodded at her cancelling the silencing charm.

"Where were you? You're obviously over twenty and you only now come to claim your heritage? And how could you do it magically? How powerful are you?"

The questions sounded forceful and Caelum considered. He wanted to get rid of these people so that he could go and check up on Harry. Now that he had a distraction the compulsion did not seem so all consuming but should he give in, it'd be easy to throw these people out of the house and screw the consequences. He gave a mental sigh at the image of Cassiopeia landing on her ass on the cold winter ground. Anyway, these people would get the public story.

"I was raised in Australia after my mother died from childbirth. War was brewing and I was a half-blood." He twirled the cup in his hands, keeping his face impassive and voice monotone. "Orion Black got a hold of a squib through his cousin Marius and he was willing to take me away and raise me for a compensation. I was six when he died and I ended up in muggle childcare system." He nodded at Melania who seemed to want to ask something. "I knew about magic and did my best to hide the magical bursts. Muggles... are not tolerant of being different. My childhood was not a happy one." The mage nailed everyone with his gaze and let them see the coldness he carried within. Some of it had come from his childhood.

"But how are you..." Melania quieted down as Arcturus glared at her. Caelum looked at him with serious eyes. This was his so-called "grandfather" though really the relation was even more distant. Great-grandfather if he was thought as Sirius' son. Arcturus had been the Head for many decades but had relinquished his claim on the position and it took a different kind of pure-blood to do just that. Even if it was for the wellbeing of the family.

Caelum would have to be careful with him.

"Why now?" the old man asked and Caelum cocked an eyebrow at the blunt question.

"There was nothing left for me there," he answered, somewhat truthfully. "There was a letter my caretaker gave me before his death and it listed my known family members. Apparently my mother had felt she might die and written it before her death." He paused to down the last of his tea and noticed that none of the others had touched theirs. "Someone I cared about died a year ago and there was nothing else to... keep me grounded. I figured my father might be still alive and since Grimmauld 12 was mentioned in the letter, I came here. The place was deserted and a painting started screaming about filth and dirty blood and intruders so I torched it." He smiled in a vindictive fashion. "Didn't take much time."

The four apparently were trying to wrap their heads around the concept of him and Caelum took the opportunity to test their Occlumency. Lucretia and Melania neither reacted as he met their eyes and brushed against their foremost thoughts that unsurprisingly were of him. Arcturus and Cassiopeia both narrowed their eyes and the mage could feel their shields rising. They were feeble at best, and he could have ripped them apart in a matter of seconds. But he politely retreated back into his own mind.

"How does one claim a Head status by magic?" Cassiopeia seemed to spit the question out of her mouth. Caelum grinned.

"By being very, _very _powerful. And some respect towards the goblins helped quite a bit." He smiled in remembrance. "There is a reason they are the only ones we've warred with multiple times in our history after all. And I have some special skills that came in handy."

The woman scowled at him. Caelum was pretty sure she wouldn't have acted like this had there been anyone else present but these were the elders of the family line, interrogating their new Head who'd popped into existence out of nowhere. _I might have left the title alone for a couple of years had I known they were still alive._ The wizard heaved a long mental sigh. No use crying over spilled milk. He could hardly back out now.

"We should be glad Druella and Pollux are already dead," Lucretia said dryly, betraying a whole new side of her. Caelum's mental note list was growing. "They would have gone over their bonkers had they known Draco had competition as the Heir."

"Walburga and Orion never officially disowned Sirius," Caelum put in, gaining everyone's attention again. Small detail he'd read from the documents handed to him by Gobteeth. "He is very much alive and innocent of all the crimes he's accused of and with me as the Head, he is the Heir unless I have children of my own." He flipped his cup and it landed softly on the counter next to the sink.

"Are you a seer?" Now Cassiopeia sounded dubious. Caelum cocked his head to the side and with a snap sent their now cooled tea away before answering. He swore the old witch came very near to fidgeting.

"Not actually but I have many skills that impressed even the goblins." He raised his brows. "Do not even think I will divulge further into those without an Unbreakable vow and further education in Occlumency." He glanced accusingly at Arcturus. "Your wife and daughter would be open to read for anyone with the slightest training." Two pairs of cold black eyes clashed.

"Are you a fighter?" Arcturus asked, changing topic so unexpectedly that Caelum blinked. He nodded without thinking much about it.

"As anyone with brains can tell, I am. And I am also Dark so that's one thing off your worry list." He pulled the impassive mask back into place and could sense the subtle relaxing of the four quests. Well, he wasn't finished, "That said, I do not see muggleborns or muggles as lesser beings. I will not hear the word mudblood from any of you under my roof even if you're a century older than me, not unless other company expects it. Those that target me I will fight and I do recognize magical blood has more dominating characteristics than non-magical. But I see every creature as an equal." He reached down and let Citala grip his fingers and lifted her on his shoulder. "To me the species does not matter. I have had goblins as best friends and fought alongside with vampires." Citala screeched defiantly and looked piercingly at the old wizard staring at her.

"I have not heard of Australians using hawks as messengers," Melania offered to ease the tension that had risen again.

"Found her in the Menagerie here. She is very smart and loyal." Caelum tapped his finger against the table and bit his tongue when he was about to start the long lecture about European prejudices and backwater system. He faked a yawn instead.

"It is nearing one o'clock and I still have business to deal with," he hinted, only receiving blank stares at the statement. An idea presented itself. "How are your relations with the Malfoys?"

Arcturus stared at him for a long while, most likely trying to discern his goal with this direction of the talk. Finally the old wizard relented. "Considering we were under the expression Draco was to be the future Head of our family... neutral."

"Good. Lucius Malfoy invited me for a breakfast on Boxing Day at ten in the morning to _meet relatives_. Have you received an invitation?" He shook his head as no one spoke up. "To even the tables, I invite you. I'll inform him tomorrow." He considered then grinned wolfishly. "He thinks I'm only ignorant when I bring you with me. I am excused because he knows nothing about me but he has no polite reason to decline based on the terms he initiated this meeting with. Great."

"We are all _Slytherins_," said Cassiopeia haughtily. Caelum rose, indicating they should leave now. He gave a little bow to the elderly witches and wizard.

"And I am not. But it has been interesting to meet with you. I expect us to talk much more in the future but I am certain even you are feeling the hour. Kreacher!" The elf popped in front of the kitchen door and bowed as he had taken as a habit now. And Caelum was pleased to note he still remembered to keep his distance. And that he had appeared at all. "Please escort the quests to a safe Apparition point. I have no floo powder." The creature bowed again and kept the door open while the four stood up and left, sending varying looks in Caelum's direction. He sank back into the chair as soon as his hearing had picked up on the four whooshes form the upper floor.

Citala jumped on the table and Syl followed her example by slithering out and turning to look at him. The tired wizard banged his head against the table and let out the air in his lungs in a long whoosh.

"Unexpected," he muttered and sent the milk and cream back into the cold box with a thought.

"_They sssmelled a little like you but not enough to matter._" commented Syl. Citala crooned. Caelum looked at the two beings on the table and rubbed his eyes. He needed to up some wards and now that the _visitors_ had gone the compulsion had come back with vengeance.

"_I will ssstill go to sssee the youngling. Do you wisssh to accompany me_?"

"_You are mine_." Caelum wasn't sure he liked hearing that but let it slide. "_I will come_."

The mage wrapped the snake around his throat and on a whim summoned the Staff to him. It gave a disgruntled flare, obviously disapproving of his actions, but came anyway. Citala cocked her head to the side but seemed to understand she'd be better off getting some sleep, especially if she had to return to the Malfoys in the morning. Caelum concentrated, remembering the familiar street with the ocean shore view and Dissapparated without a sound, only remembering his promise to Kreacher when the tube squeezed around him.

The place was not different from his memories. He could see the pier from where he was standing, the amusement park on water silent for Christmas night. A silent Notice-Me-Not charm on him and no one paid attention as a man carrying a glowing staff trotted down the street towards a block of flats where he'd spent his life between years 5 and 11.

Caelum stopped to consider the place. Their apartment had been on the ground level and he sent a silent thank you to his Aunt for listening Dudley's complaints about higher floors. There were people out and about but none paid him attention, so he could slip inside the building with a silent _Alohomora_ and a Disillusionment Charm in place.

The hallway was empty and he crept up the couple of stairs only to end up on a door without a name. _Odd_, he thought but touched the Emerald to the door all the same. The door seemed to ripple and he stepped through it inside the small apartment, only to be shocked yet again.

The floor was covered with newspapers, some so old they were yellow. There were shoes, socks, pens, books and all kinds of objects lying everywhere as if haphazardly thrown there. Petunia would never have allowed such a chaos to exist in her home and Caelum had been the one to do most of the cleaning. He tried to take a look around but found the paper crackled beneath his feet. "_Continu Strepituo_," the man whispered, eager in his nervousness to find out what had happened. His feet glowed a faint white light and he walked to his old bedroom.

The room was filled with computer gear, causing a foreboding feeling settle into the pit of Caelum's stomach. Dreading what he'd find, the mage turned to the living room and let the Emerald illuminate the sight with soft green light. His breathing stopped.

There was a thin man lying on the floor surrounded by beer bottles. It appeared his Christmas had been spent alone in alcohol induced happiness. There were no presents in sight and no decorations either. Caelum went closer to take a better look. The man resembled an otter with his flat nose and small eyes.

_Who the hell are you_? Caelum wondered, giving the man a slight push with his leg. He got no reaction.

"_Thisss place reeksss. Let usss leave._" Syl didn't even push his head out of Caelum's clothes and Caelum could feel the split tongue swishing against his bare skin. The sensation sent chills down his back.

"_He isss not here._" Caelum crouched down and rested his head on his knees, trying unsuccessfully to expel the smell of barf and sweat from his nostrils. He knew where the Harry of this world would be unless something was drastically different. Maybe the child would not even be with Dursleys. Maybe he was living with a nicer version of Marge. _Merlin, don't let him be..._ Caelum shuddered violently and felt nauseous. He drew in a long breath. The Staff in his hands grew warm and he realized he had it in a death grip. Not that he could snap it but he knew he needed to get out of here. With one look around the mage turned on the spot and disappeared leaving the drunken man oblivious to his visit.

The air was cold as he fell down heavily on a bench in Regent's Park. Syl huddled closer to stay warm but was clever enough not to stay anything. Being thousands of years old apparently matured even snakes. The Staff was still radiating warmth, trying to soothe its mage's feelings. Caelum knew he should try but he had left this behind him so long ago. He hardly even remembered...

"What should I do?" he asked no one in particular. He had not set foot in Number 4 Privet Drive in twenty years and the thought of one version of him possibly spending _a decade_ under that roof made his blood both boil and freeze in his veins. The mage tried to unsuccessfully suppress another shiver but couldn't help it. He looked up to the clear sky of stars.

"If I take him, I can't go back."

That was just it. He knew something about the workings of magic and he had played a major role in moulding the magical world into what it currently was in his own dimension. Harry Potter was necessary in both worlds. Voldemort had wrecked such havoc the general public believed him to be undefeatable to all and everyone – except to one young boy.

Caelum got up and Apparated to Surrey. He had chosen as his destination the alley between Wisteria Walk and Magnolia Crescent, certain this was far enough for no wards to pick up on his arrival. He hardly remembered this place but one particular memory of escaping Dudley and his gang made it possible to use it. He sagged briefly against the wall decorated with graffiti, remembering his companions' insistence on resting but too determined to find confirmation to turn back. The compulsion was dragging his feet to Wisteria Walk and along it to visual range of Number 4 Privet Drive. The sight glued his feet firmly to the ground.

It was as if the house was surrounded by a sickly yellow dome, runes swirling on its surface. The ward was distorted into a barely recognizable form and Caelum felt sick just looking at it. He could see where the blood protection was trying to stay strong but the dome was slowly twisting from the inside, forcing the protection to only stay on its weakest. Caelum could even from this distance see the runes to distract owls and turn the place Unplottable to malevolent magic and intent but where the protection could have been strong enough to follow the occupants when they ventured outside, the ward was fighting its hardest to simply exist.

The mage leaned on his Staff, unable to tear his eyes of the sight. He'd never seen the blood protection of his mother with his own eyes before and this warped version made him glad he'd only obtained the ability to see and sense magic at a later age. Seeing wards and charms could be a pain in the ass and it was something he used with great reluctance but he could not turn the ability off as he stared at a version of one of his childhood homes.

"_Grant me sight,_" the mage muttered, touching the Emerald on his forehead while momentarily closing his eyes, and turning his gaze immediately back on the house as the charm took effect. He zoomed in on the second floor, seeing a baby whale size boy sleeping in a big bed in one of the bedrooms and two others – Petunia as thin as ever – in the master bedroom. Caelum ignored the chilling of his blood and let his eyes pass the whale without reacting. He had the Killing Curse on his lips and knew by experience the spell would break through the ward and protections and kill the whale in his sleep. If he only said those two words that had fallen from his lips so often.

Biting his lip Caelum searched the house for one other that should be there. And he found a small figure huddled on the floor of the cupboard on first floor with only a rag covering the tiny body and spiders scuttling all over the floor and thus, him.

Harry.

Caelum was halfway to the house before he realized he had moved and halted to a stop. He...

"_What are you doing_?" hissed Syl, clearly fed up with waiting for answers. "_Why are we _ssstill _in the cold?_"

"_Sssomething important_." His tone was dismissive and the snake grumbled in annoyance, muttering something about idiot humans with no patience.

And Caelum knew the green serpent was right. He needed patience or this would just blow in his face and he couldn't risk turning things worse for Harry. He drew in a deep breath and let the Gryffindor rashness fall to the background and drew on the calculative practicality of a war leader. Something he should now get used to be doing all the time.

His shields provided perfect protection so the ward would view him as a muggle. If Hogwarts could not sense him when he did not want it to, something the old codger had created would definitely not be able to do so. And he couldn't just waltz in and kill everyone – no matter how much he wanted to.

_The ward is not a problem. The problem is whether or not I can use magic on the inside? And would it react to a glamour?_ Caelum stroked his hand where the markings ended on his knuckles. _The codger will no doubt view their memories as soon as he finds out, and I can't jeopardise my position. He'd come after me at full force if he knew I took Harry out of here and killing _him_ would bring even more problems..._ The mage stood in the middle of the street for half an hour, making and discarding plans. His final conclusion was simple: He needed the goblins again.

The mage walked back to the alley to turn on the spot, only pausing reinforce the glamour on his eyes and cast another one on the signs of fatigue. The Staff disappeared into non-space and Caelum Apparated to the steps of Gringotts. He looked up and squeezed his eyes shut as the magic blinded him. "What did you do?" he hissed at the absent Staff, quickly connecting this to its odd behaviour. It was as though he couldn't shut the ability off anymore. He'd only ever been able to see wisps and glimpses when concentrating hard enough on sensing but now nothing would make him _not _see. He reinforced his shields, noting their weak state and remembering the need for meditation and genuinely hoped he could control this then. Only thing his reinforcement was able to do now was to lessen the brightness of the spells, charms and wards he could see clear as day.

It was a disgruntled wizard that walked up the stairs and through the doors while chanting in Gobbledegook. But he could only barely tear his eyes away from the enchantments when he realized the goblin magic even _looked _different from human magic. The rune based wards were strong and the runes in them more angular than the circular kind human drawn runes were. He could separate the – probably – Ministry put up wards from the primordial goblin kind. The man was standing in the centre of a swirl of colours and unbeknownst to him his eyes reflected the light only he could see, intensifying the glow his glamoured eyes had behind the charm.

A young goblin immediately scuttled to him and halted in fright when Caelum turned his glowing green-black eyes to regard him. "M-mister Black. How can I help you?"

"– _May riches find you. – _" The goblin blushed when he got reprimanded by a human of politeness. "I would like to speak with my accountant, Gobteeth. A situation has arisen and I am in need of his services."

"I will direct you to his office. However..." The youngling hesitated. "It might take some time before he is able to arrive."

Caelum suppressed the feelings of irritation and urgency inside of him and nodded his acquiescence. As the young goblin led him along the hallways he cast a quick _Tempus_ and blinked at the time. It was one o'clock and here he was requesting an audience with his accountant. The goblins must have been really impressed yesterday or he'd have gone flying like a spear out of the bank.

As he was left alone Syl slithered out and turned his purple-hued eyes on him. The snake looked pretty pissed.

"_Of all the humansss I have travelled with, you are the mossst ssstrubborn and annoying. I have only ssspent a day with you but I already know you will cause my ssscalesss to dim! Why can you not ressst? All living creaturesss mussst do ssso!_"

Caelum sighed and looked around to see that there were no listening charms in place. There were Notice-Not spells and different kinds of wards and other enchantments on the objects but nothing to spy him with. "_It isss important. I will ressst but... I mussst do thisss first._" He wondered if he should mention the compulsion but decided it would only serve to irk Syl even more. He did not want to be bitten so that the snake might somehow _claim_ him as his own.

"_I will explain thisss later when I have proof. Now pleassse get back. The goblin might be afraid of you._" He offered his hand and the snake moved up his arm to his favourite spot around his neck after telling him just how unpleased he was with the situation and muttering something about unnatural black eyes. And thanks to their connection Caelum felt every hiss like a lash on his mind.

It still took about half an hour before Gobteeth arrived to his office. Caelum knew goblins did not celebrate Christmas but this time was still considered their time of peace as most of their customers were humans – officially all but what the Ministry did not know did not hurt them – and humans would not be needing banking services at this time of year. Usually anyway.

"Mr Black. I did not expect to see you so soon. We are still putting final touches on you identity papers for the muggle world," Gobteeth grunted as he took his seat behind the desk, pushing the glasses higher on his nose. The wizard bowed his head respectfully but knew better than to start uttering Christmastime wishes. Besides, his accountant seemed grumpy enough for the late/early client.

"I need adoption papers, magically binding ones that are enchanted against forced signature and accept blood quill usage." The goblin's eyebrows had slowly climbed as Caelum listed his requirements. "And I need them to be unreadable to anyone outside our bloodline but verifying their legitimacy should still be easy."

"Quite a list of demands." Gobteeth leaned back in his chair. "Who are you adopting if I may ask?"

"Someone from my mother's side of family. It only came to my attention today that he lives in an abusive household and I can provide him much better. Oh, and the adoption needs to be recognized in the muggle society as well, under my false identity."

"The reason should be well justified for us to release the papers you request." An assessing glint had entered the goblin's black eyes but Caelum kept up the appearances and answered the look with same intensity. He saw Gobteeth tense and was satisfied he had not forgotten any of his familiar intimidation techniques.

"The child in question is underfed and small for his age, leaving me to believe he has lived in near starvation," replied Caelum, all the while keeping his eyes locked on the goblin. "He was sleeping in a cupboard under the stairs only a rag to cover him and spiders running freely over him. The house had not one but _two_ free bedrooms and no child could be punished like this on Christmas night. The cupboard also housed a couple of clothes and broken toys which leads me to believe it truly is where he sleeps. He was also magically exhausted."

"Magically?" Gobteeth's voice was harsh and Caelum relaxed mentally when his suspicion was confirmed. The goblin continued, "I see. Are you willing to give an oath pertaining to the truth of what you have just said?"

"By Magic and Might I, Caelum Black, swear to have told the truth and only the truth to Black family's accountant Gobteeth pertaining to the state of my potential adopted son." A soft golden glow surrounded Caelum, proving his claim. Gobteeth nodded briskly and started scribbling on several pieces of parchment. In a flash they were gone from the desk and then the accountant tapped a globe on the desk and started rattling so fast in Gobbledegook that Caelum could barely follow. He turned his attention to the door ten minutes later when it opened and five different goblins entered.

"Efficient," commented the mage.

"The prince holds you in high esteem and you have only shown us respect. Of course, there is the oath you have given as well." Gobteeth received a pile of parchment from each goblin and one of them handed him a black sleek box as well. The parchments very glowing so brightly Caelum had to narrow his eyes but inwardly he was pleased. It took some impressive magic to grant his request and the few runes he caught confirmed the authenticity of the papers.

"Please understand that this was only possible because of your status as a Head of the House of Black and because you have allied yourself with our race. I can with certainty tell you that there are less than a dozen beings around the world that we would do this for. Our soothsayers have told the future changed drastically at Winter Solstice and that your appearance is connected to it." Gobteeth drew a long breath and surprisingly smiled. "The future is ever changing."

Caelum took the parchment and read through them. He nodded in appreciation. "Thank you."

Gobteeth picked up the box with his long fingers and held it gingerly. "These are greatly frowned upon and their usage is illegal except in special cases." He nailed Caelum down with his gaze. "I believe this is one of those cases and I expect you to return this once the papers have been signed."

Caelum coughed and made a quick decision. "I thank you for being front with me. So I will be with you as well and I trust you will only speak of my intentions to your prince. Do I have your word?" Gobteeth nodded and Caelum cast a wandless privacy ward around them excluding all the magical objects from his ward. "The child I am adopting is famous, the most famous human ten-year old in Britain. You understand who I'm talking about?"

Gobteeth was imitating Kreacher with his eyes. They were so big they seemed to be popping out of his head and the goblin's mouth had opened in surprise. Caelum raised his hand. "Remember what I told you. And this is a legitimate adoption as I am his only close magical relation – only people would frown upon a Dark family's Head adopting the poster child for Light." He shook his head. "He is being abused and neglected and I only went there to confirm his wellbeing. When I came here yesterday I had no intention of adopting him but as it stands... I do not know how I cannot."

Caelum sat up straighter in his chair. "I believe it will take only hours at most for the Headmaster of Hogwarts to find out the boy is missing from his muggle relatives. He will do everything in his power to find the child and to return him there. To these," Caelum motioned on the papers and the box, "he cannot do anything but he can still use his impressive power and influence to hide them and to again take control of the child's life. That is why I want him to not be able to read the papers themselves and for the muggle ones to have my fake name in case he decides to check."

"You do not trust this... this Headmaster?" Caelum could nearly see the wheels turning in his accountant's head.

"No, and I do not want to reveal myself to him yet. Your soothsayers are right, change is coming and I am bringing it. The codger is from the past and continues to hang on it and stupid bigoted beliefs because he knows nothing else." The mage sighed. "I... Getting the child is important in a way I myself can't explain completely. I wanted you to know that someone might be interested in where I got the documents and as a copy of them will be held in Gringotts, they will come to you with questions. It is a so called heads up."

The accountant looked confused but nodded all the same. "We appreciate the warning and I will let the prince know. You continue to prove your respect and I see no reason to withhold you for further questioning." As Caelum received the black case, the goblin added, "In this case it might be best to know less."

"Thank you." Caelum rose and dispelled the ward. He knew he was giving a lot of information to beings he'd only met yesterday but his gut was telling him to trust the goblins. He sighed remembering all the progress made in his world and knew he'd have to manipulate them into existence here as well. Being honest and respectful was a start.

" – _May your gold continue to flow. –_ " Caelum bowed again before turning on the spot and leaving before he said something more. As he walked the empty hallways of Gringotts he wondered how his very much _alive _Black relatives would fit into his and Harry's future.

* * *

A/N: Keep those reviews coming. Every single one of them brightens the day under the ashcloud.

_Revised 7/2011_


	8. How to Face a Whale

I've got such wonderful reviews that I've been practically jumping up and down all week. And **aalens** agreed to be my BETA so now the quality of the text is much better. A huge thank you for her! And **jisa** and everyone that had plot-related questions - don't worry. I'll be answering them all in the story but not this soon. Just keep reading.

For this chapter I had to read the first couple chapters of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone again and I was pretty amazed at how sarcastic Harry was before he was sorted into Gryffindor (or before talking with Hagrid) and started to absorb everyone else's prejudices and ideologies. Not going to happen here but I have a slight problem with writing believable young kids so bear with me... And this chapter is also pretty short because it just seemed good to cut it there.

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and no money is made with this.

* * *

OF SHADOW, SHINE AND SHADES by dra6on

Chapter 7. How to Face a Whale

It was nine o'clock in the morning when the mage Apparated to the alley again. He stayed for a moment in the shadows watching the identical houses before him, snow making them even more indistinguishable than during summertime. It was truly a sight of tranquillity and the man wished he could see it as such. But there were too many bad memories he had about this place and he only wanted to get this over with quickly.

The freshly fallen snow crunched beneath Caelum's dragon hide boots as he walked calmly towards Privet Drive, Number 4. A short muggle coat partly covered his transfigured robes, now in the form of an elegant black v-neck shirt and jeans of the same colour. The Black family ring was safely tucked away in the non-space (it really hadn't wanted to come off) and he'd even removed his earring. The mage was stripped clean of magical objects and he'd actually had to leave the Hallows in his warded bedroom because not even non-space could tone down the protection they offered - even if it was only detectable by him.

The only magic he had with him came from the documents and the case, and of course from his glamour that at the moment presented a malleable looking middle-aged man to the world. This man was maybe in his mid-forties and had laughter lines at the corners of his grey eyes, really looking like someone's uncle on his way to give a Christmas greeting to a nephew or a niece. But magic could be deceptive.

Beneath the glamour Caelum had wrapped a translucent black veil around his head so that only his green eyes were showing, and at the moment glowing in the sick light of the blood ward. This was a trick he'd learned in China and – never forgetting his training – now put to use. While the chance of someone magical popping up was slight, it existed, and he could not give out his identity this early in the game, and a slightly muffled voice was a small price to pay for this precaution. That's why the tattoo was hidden by make-up, even beneath the veil and the gloves he'd found for himself.

The muggle-disguised wizard stopped mere inches from the border of the ward to even his breathing and check his shields weren't letting any of his magic through. He had managed to get four hours of meditation and his Occlumency was working better than before. The shields were far from perfect but still strong enough to contain his murderous intent and not let the wards pick on it. He could have used a couple of hours more in the meditative state but he honestly could not stay put in the house anymore. He'd even left Syl and Citala behind, with them both being magical creatures.

The mage spent a couple more minutes watching the ward. The thought of passing through something so twisted disgusted him and he could only be grateful it would not be able to touch his magic and contaminate it. No wonder Harry was suffering from magical exhaustion. But the pull between them was almost tangible, and without thinking much of it, Caelum took the significant step forward.

The wards did not even ripple as he passed through them, nor did they seem to recognise him as Harry. The man gave a mental sigh of relief before walking to the plain door. The snow hadn't been shovelled and Caelum took that to mean the whale – the least provoking word he could come up with – had not forced a ten year old boy out on a Christmas morning to do his chores. But the man's expression darkened and even his glamour was affected when he realized this to mean his younger counterpart might still be in the cupboard.

He rang the doorbell, a feeling of nostalgia rising at the nearly forgotten sound.

The muffled voices of joy and excitement coming from inside quieted and soon the earth shook as someone tromped to the door. Caelum had just enough time to send a curse to any god that might be listening, before plastering a pleasant smile on his seemingly middle-aged face.

And it was the whale who opened the door, only dressed in a morning coat barely big enough to cover the enormous blob of a man. Caelum was subjected to close scrutiny by beady eyes and he suppressed a shudder. "Yes?" the whale finally grunted, clearly displeased with the disruption of his Christmas morning.

At the sound of the vaguely familiar voice, Caelum forced himself to swallow when dark feelings nearly overtook him and made him commit yet another murder, this time in this peaceful suburb. He wanted nothing more than to give himself over to the power of the Killing Curse and the suspicious look on the whale's face only fuelled his desire. But he thought of Harry and fought, for the young boy's sake.

"Mr. Dursley? John Smith, a pleasure to meet you." He only nodded. His adversity to any touch was even stronger now than it had been with Lucius.

The beady eyes narrowed even more. "What do you want? Whatever it is you're selling, we're not interested."

The whale started to close the door but Caelum quickly stuck his foot forward and met the outraged eyes of the blob before him. _Breathe, Caelum_, he reminded himself. _Just breathe._

"I am terribly sorry for disturbing your holidays but I felt the matter could not wait. I am here to tell you about your chance to-"

"Did I not tell you? We are not buying any Hoovers or magazines!"

"And I am not selling!" The mage's tone of voice was bordering on dangerous but the whale of course did not realize that. How could a human be so dense? "I have a proposition that will change your life. If you would just-" Again he was cut off. Caelum bit his tongue to keep from sending the hundreds of dark curses he knew flying at the blob before him.

"You can take your propositions elsewhere! It is Christmas!" The whale was starting to turn red and spit was flying as he shouted in Caelum's face. The mage tried not to gag and clenched his jaw.

"I am here about the boy."

It was nearly comical how fast the colour drained from the whale's face. He started sputtering. "YOU! You're one of them lot! One of them freaks! Leave!" The whale yanked the door and the wizard wondered how he'd walk after this because the pressure on his foot was great, even through the boots.

"I am here to take the boy and I would like this to go smoothly," replied Caelum peacefully but his jaw was still clenching. "I do not have my wand," the whale flinched, "with me. I promise not to do any of the... weird stuff. Do you not want to get rid of him for good?"

The whale eyed him from head to toes and back, a whole array of emotions playing on his face, and Caelum bit on his tongue yet again, trying to concentrate on something other than the prickling of his skin. Two words and this excuse for a man would be no more. Two little words that so easily fell from his lips. But maybe the strain of dealing with someone magical would cause his heart to implode. Now there was a cheery thought.

_And if I lose my temper Harry would never trust me._

"You want the boy?" the whale grunted. Caelum saw Petunia come to see what was taking her husband so long. The mage could honestly say that the years with her family had not been kind to her and she looked at least ten years older than her age. Her eyes were listless and the mage honestly pitied this woman who'd chosen to stay with the blob.

"What is it, Vernon?" she asked when Caelum gave her a little bow, just out of common courtesy.

"He wants the boy," the whale repeated and the woman blanched. Her eyes turned to Caelum and the wizard could see the disgust but also the curiosity in them, as the woman slowly realized what he was under the disguise. He nodded as an answer.

"Your husband is right. I have all the docu-"

"Get in here!" He was practically dragged inside and Petunia took a quick look around to make sure no one had seen. She nodded in satisfaction at the empty street but that was about all Caelum could see because he was busy manoeuvring himself to stand on the first stair without touching the whale. His skin was prickling enough as it was, thank you.

"We don't want anyone seeing the likes of _you!_" Petunia practically hissed. "We are good, _normal_ people."

"Which is why I am dressed like this." Caelum resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the familiar antics of this copy of the aunt he'd known. "As I was saying, I am taking him, _for good._ I have the papers here, and all you need to do is sign and you'll never see him again." The two adults stared at him and Caelum raised his brows while pulling out the four copies of the adoption papers from his pocket. "Should we take this to the living room or...?" He took a step down from the stair.

"The kitchen," the whale grunted and motioned for Caelum to go first. He passed the cupboard door and had to stop himself from breaking in right then and there. Just minutes left. But the sight of the locks and clasp made his heart clench and the anger grow tenfold.

The mage strode inside the kitchen and spread the papers on top of the kitchen table, while the Dursleys picked up Dudley from the living room and arranged themselves in front of the stove. The remains of the breakfast had been moved to the sink and Caelum felt dark pleasure at leaving Petunia to deal with them herself. She was clutching her son in front of her as if he was her lifeline and the mini-whale seemed to have no idea as to what was going on.

"As I was saying, I am here about Harry. I would like to take him from you-"

"You want to teach him those freakish things!" the whale shouted, apparently finally gaining his wits back. "I will not have it! We swore when we took that ungrateful brat under our roof, we'd uproot all that foolishness out of him!"

"He'd just as freakish as my blasted sister was," Petunia said disdainfully, clutching Dudley. "We're not going to let you make him..." She kept going on, but Caelum rubbed his temples in annoyance and tuned most of it out. They'd invited him in out of fear of anyone seeing him when he was dressed as a muggle. And _now_ they started to talk rubbish? Only the earlier hours of meditation prevented his magic from exploding and taking the lives of all three with it. Twenty years he'd gone without dealing with this. Twenty years without seeing the sorry excuse of a man whose existence benefited no one and twenty years without listening to the deriding words of his Aunt. The mage took a shaky breath.

"Mrs Dursley," he interrupted and Petunia seemed to choke on her last word in surprise. "Harry is turning eleven in July. He will get a letter from Hogwarts and there is nothing, _nothing _you can do about it. You can try to hide it, you can even try to _flee_ but there is absolutely nothing you can do to stop him from finding about his heritage. If the school does not get an answer, they will send someone here and that someone will come to _your doorstep_ dressed in a _robe_-" Petunia and the whale shuddered. Dudley just looked confused, "in broad daylight, and they will not care that your neighbours notice, they will _not care _that someone finds out there's something weird about your relatives."

He could see that he had their attention now but a thud from the hallway drew his own attention. It seemed Harry was listening too and the mage grimaced when he realized how his words could be interpreted. Another thud followed the first one. _Oh Merlin. Is he trying to break through the door or what? Just minutes and I'll get him out of that hole._

"Mum?" asked the baby whale and Caelum turned his piercing eyes on him.

"They will come into your house and using their abilities they will force you to let him go. They will expose your son to _our lot_." Petunia whimpered and wrapped her arms around her son. "Anyway, this is the easy way out for you. You'll just sign these and you'll never have to see Harry again." The mage noticed Petunia looked quite conflicted, even with the ranting she'd done. Caelum's Aunt had cared for him and their relationship had been cool but decent. This version had lived a decade starving and neglecting her own nephew and for that Caelum hated her. She had no claim over him. No matter that he was her last connection to her only sister she _did not deserve_ to have him.

"You want the freak? On a Christmas Day?"

"I was unable to come earlier or I would have taken him from this house years ago. For that I apologise." Yeah, he was in an alternate universe. Another thud from the hallway and Caelum nearly let his mental cringe show on the face of his glamour. He needed to hurry.

"Vernon..." Petunia whispered and the two had a whole conversation through their eyes. Caelum used this time to pull out the case and put the quill on the table. He'd have to explain about it as well or using it would be useless. Sometime in the future he'd have to have good explanations for his behaviour and getting the Dursleys to agree to everything willingly would be worth it.

"Ahem... Mr Smith? But the letter said that people were after him and..."

Caelum raised his brow and cocked his head to the side. What letter? Oh, the one from _Dumbledore_. His face turned impassive to hide his true feelings. "The letter you are talking about also stated that, as long as you kept him, none of those people would be able to find him. I am here. I am not one of those people and believe me he'll be much safer with me than with you." The mask broke and the Dursleys had their first glimpse of what true anger looked like. They seemed to shrink away before him. Even Dudley turned ashen. "Not that any of you care," Caelum added under his breath.

Caelum picked up the quill. It had come with a numbing spell and he was inclined to take it off but knew getting the magic-haters to agree to this was difficult enough without there being pain involved. "This is a blood quill," he started his explanation and three pairs of eyes grew the size of saucers. "It draws on your blood to use as ink. It is painless though your hand might feel a bit numb afterwards. Using this ensures that the writer of the letter cannot bring the boy back here. You sign him off with your blood and nothing anyone does can change it afterwards. I understand it sounds horrible but let me demonstrate."

He quickly signed his name on three spots on all the four documents and glared at the paper when under _Caelum Black _appeared a smudge he knew represented his true name and titles. Thank the gods only he was able to make it visible because it was his blood and because of the private nature of the documents. It wouldn't do for anyone nosy to find about his origins through a stupid mistake like that.

The Dursleys had stared in horror as the lines were cut on the back of his hand but their eyes bulged out when he presented the untouched skin to them. "I swear to you it only looks horrible but there is no pain involved. Just this and no one magical will bother you ever again," he said, only lying on the last statement.

"You want us to...?" The whale swallowed, then seemed to gather his courage, grabbed the quill and started signing. He was flinching all the time during the first copy but the last three he signed as if using an odd pen. The muggle laid the quill on the table and swallowed before motioning his wife to do the same. Caelum kept his mouth shut as Petunia proceeded to follow her husband's example and signed her nephew off. The mage had never expected it to go this smoothly but he did not want to test his Legilimency when his shields were as strained as they now were. Not that it mattered.

The family returned to stand in front of the stove and the mage quickly checked the documents, all was in order and now he only needed Harry's signature to make them as binding as possible. He sighed as he rolled up the documents but let a small smile appear on his face as the wards around the house shuddered. They'd be down in minutes or less and would never be put up again. The thought brought Caelum sadistic pleasure. Anything angering the old coot did.

"I will get the boy," Petunia spoke and moved towards the door but Caelum stepped before her and stopped her with a look.

"Oh, I know where you've been keeping him," he nearly hissed, no more concerned with playing Mister Nice Guy. Before he did something irreversible the man whirled around and stalked to the cupboard, breaking of the lock and yanking the doors open without another thought. Stale stench invaded his nostrils but all his anger dissipated as soon as he laid eyes on the small figure huddled on the floor. The mage slowly crouched down and cocked his head to the side, waiting for Harry to at least look at him. He did not have to wait for long because as soon as Harry realised he wasn't assaulted, two green eyes peered from under the dirty bangs. Caelum smiled tentatively. "Hi."

Harry stared at him and clenched his arms tighter around his legs. There was a spider on his shoulder but the mage doubted Harry even realised, or he simply did not care.

"You're Harry?" he tried but the boy kept quiet and simply looked at him straight in the eyes. Caelum did not break the contact. He leaned a bit closer and made sure the Dursleys couldn't hear. "My name is Caelum. I'm related to your father."

Harry's eyes widened at this and his head snapped up in attention. Caelum worried he might have snapped his neck but the raven haired boy kept staring at him in incredulity.

"My father?" He had such a timid voice that Caelum cringed inwardly. He could easily imagine what Harry had been through in the last nine years.

"Yes. I am sorry I couldn't come earlier. But better late than never." He smiled again and this time Harry flashed a grin back. This made Caelum grin as well. He laughed and scooted slightly back. "You wanna come out?"

Harry's eyes darted to the right and Caelum turned his head to see the whale standing in the kitchen doorway. The beady eyes had been narrowed again in suspicion but the blob seemed to shrink away before the mage's angry gaze. Caelum softened his glamour's features as he turned to look at Harry again. "Come on," the wizard said and offered his hand. "Let's get you out of here."

Harry shook his head. "What kind of school is Hogwarts?"

Caelum laughed again quietly. "A school for people like us," he answered. "You'll go there in the autumn but until then I'd really like you to come and stay with me. You'd get your own clothes and a room." A little bribery always worked.

Harry's eyes grew large but he still didn't move. Caelum shook his head fondly. "Harry. There is much I want to tell you but I can't do it here. If you..." He licked his lips. "If you decide not to stay with me after we talk, I will bring you back here."

"Now listen here! You said-" The whale's rant stopped short when the mage turned his furious eyes on him. He was at the limit of his patience and just one more word from the whale and he'd snap. The wards shook around them and Caelum breathed in and out slowly to calm down.

"Come on, we better get a move on." He rose to his feet but did not withdraw the hand he'd offered Harry. "I promise you I will not harm you," he swore.

The boy was obviously still suspicious but he grasped Caelum's hand and allowed him to pull him on his feet and out of the cupboard. He was so tiny the mage wanted nothing more than to pick him up and hug him but knew from personal experience that he should not push it. Instead he tightened his hold on the small hand and smiled. "Do you need anything from there?" his eyes moved to the cupboard and back to see Harry's reaction. The kid shrugged.

"No, sir."

Caelum nearly corrected him but one look at the whale had him shut his mouth. Damn Dumbledore. Why did the manipulator have to exist here as well? Life would be so much easier if he could just oppose Tom on his own without pulling all these other people to fight for him. If he'd just...

There he went again. It had been a while since he'd ranted about Dumbledore – not since the man's death – but now he needed to focus on Harry.

"Well, let's go. I don't want to spend any more time here." The mage turned his eyes on the whale and his wife who was peeking over the blob shoulder. "I wish never to see you again," he said in his coldest possible voice. The Dursleys shuddered. "And you should pray not to cross my path in the future."

With this the two wizards walked out of the house. When Caelum looked down at his younger version he realised Harry was staring at their hands clasped together in a tight hold and that there was an awed look in his eyes. By then they already stepped through the wards, and with a shudder and a flash they crumbled and fell. Harry looked behind him.

"What was that?"

"Just the beginning of something else," Caelum smirked. They reached the pavement, and feeling like an idiot Caelum realized he hadn't even let Harry take his coat and that now the boy was shivering in his too big clothes. He kneeled and cocked his head to the right, making sure he had eye contact. "We're gonna need to get somewhere safe and _warm_. Do you mind if I carry you? I know you're a bit old for it but it'd be easier that way."

The boy's eyes widened. "You want to carry me?"

"Not if you don't want to but..." Caelum carefully wrapped his free arm around Harry, ready to stop at any indication of discomfort on the kid's part but he managed easily to lift the boy up as he straightened to his full height. The same stale smell clung to the boy's clothes and it was almost disgusting how dirty his messy hair was. Shower and bath were definitely on their to-do list. But at the moment the mage settled for hoisting Harry on his waist, and after a moment of tensing, two thin arms wrapped around his neck. Caelum grinned in happiness. "Good, now we just-"

Flames burst into existence in front of him and the mage instinctively whirled away from possible danger and called his Staff to his free right hand. It flared an Avada Kedavra green, ready to fight once more.

And it better be ready because the mage quickly identified the arrival as Dumbledore. The Headmaster was wearing blue robes with twinkling stars in them and a red and green hat was bobbing on top of his head. All and all, his attire was quite comical. But there was nothing comical about his expression.

_Now why in the seven hells would a phoenix bond with him?_ Caelum wondered, dividing his attention between the magical bird singing beautiful notes and circling the air above them and the old wizard with his wand trained on Harry and Caelum.

"Put the boy down," Dumbledore commanded and Caelum could see no trace of the twinkle in his eyes. Harry shuddered, from cold or fear, Caelum couldn't know. He tried to Apparate but realised the Anti-Apparition ward was up already and breaking through it with Harry could end badly. Damn.

Should he try to talk his way out of this one? He'd been stupid not to foresee this.

"Put the boy down!" Dumbledore repeated, this time with a little more force in his words, and the mage's eyes travelled to the Elder wand. It looked identical but he felt no connection between them, nothing like the pull he'd felt to the holly wand. He raised the Staff as an answer and saw interest in Dumbledore's face.

"Albus," the mage said in a raspy voice he'd copied from one of his mentors. "Harry comes with me. Willingly. You do not have the power to stop us."

"Please, you surely can see that you gain nothing by taking him," Dumbeldore immediately changed tactics. "Your master is gone and attacking an innocent boy will not change anything." The aged wizard took a step closer but Caelum quickly backpedalled three steps to maintain their distance.

"Ah, but I serve no master, Albus," Caelum replied, stepping sideways to keep himself moving. "The muggles were happy to sign him over to me. Go see for yourself." He whirled out of the way as a spell came his way. It hit the pavement and Caelum could only cuss in his mind as his legs started suddenly sinking into the cement. He sent a pulse of his magic from his leg and bounced on top of the road, only to start sinking again. He kept himself in constant motion, dancing away from the path of _Stupefies _and other fairly safe spells.

Harry's hold on his neck was suffocating but Caelum barely noticed. Damn, he was not prepared to face Dumbledore! He hadn't even thought about how to deal with the old coot. Too many unknown factors. Finally he had enough and used the Emerald, more worried about this ordeal's effect on Harry than anything else.

He pointed it on the pavement. "_Solid._" Then raised it. "_Shield._"

He wasn't fast enough. A _Finite_ got to him before the mercurial shield rose between them and Caelum could feel the glamour unravel and reveal his true face. He sent a silent praise to his Chinese mentors.

"Who are you?" the Headmaster demanded and there was a note of desperation in his usually controlled voice. Harry started to pull away and Caelum feared he might struggle. He dared to take his eyes of Dumbledore and looked down on the boy.

"It's alright," he whispered as two identical pairs of eyes met and Harry gasped. "I _will_ explain everything to you. Trust me for now."

Harry nodded slowly, still staring, and reassured Caelum was free to turn his eyes back on the Headmaster who was trying his shield with silent spells, as expected, none had any effect. The mage smirked behind the veil. As powerful as the Elder wand was, it was nothing compared to his Staff and the Emerald embedded into it. Whether one believed the old story of the Hallows, or that they were created by the Peverell brothers themselves, their creation was still influenced by men and their needs. His Emerald was pure and free of human influence.

"I do not have time to waste on you, Albus," Caelum whispered and the spells started to fly faster from the Headmaster's wand only to dissipate harmlessly against the mercurial shield. "Do not worry, he'll be safe with me ...and should he wish it, I will return him back here." The green eyes spied movement in many windows. He chuckled, a raspy sound. "Do deal with the muggles."

Caelum raised his Staff again and smirking at the fearful look on Dumbledore's face whispered, "_Away._"

The Staff flared, the wards dissipated and Caelum and Harry vanished in a blazing green light leaving Dumbledore and the phoenix alone on the street, a deep look of despair on the old man's face.

The pair appeared on a street Caelum recognized to be in Liverpool, Davy St in Everton. The Staff flashed before vanishing and Caelum thanked it silently in his mind.

"Who was that? What did you do? Was that a laser?"

The man turned his attention to the boy, who blushed under his gaze and snapped his mouth shut. He had so many questions but Harry had already learned not to speak his mind. Even now there was a vary look in his eyes as the boy waited for his reaction. Or perhaps it was because he was still wearing the veil.

"Hmm..." Caelum looked around only to see the street was empty. He turned to Harry, reassured of their privacy, and ruffled his hair affectionately. "You can always ask me questions, but now I think you should have a bath and something to eat. I bet there's a McDonald's open somewhere. You want to go?"

Harry nodded so enthusiastically Caelum winced mentally and feared he'd dislocated his neck. After a quick check he flashed a grin his glowing green eyes betrayed and said, "Hold on, this might feel a bit weird." He Apparated them home.

* * *

A/N: I got my friend to draw the model and I'll be trying with the tattoos again... Let's see how it goes.

Happy May Day people!

(And do review!)

_Revised 7/2011_


	9. Another World

Okay, not much happens in this chapter. Just showing Caelum and Harry's first real talk... And I'll probably continue with this approach in the next chapter as well but I promise at least part of the breakfast will be included in the next update.

And you have kept reviewing! Thank you! Getting almost 30 reviews is great and I'm sorry I don't answer to all of them personally. But I do take them into consideration and keep pointing out if you find something bothering you. But do keep in mind that my Harry is based on canon and therefore while I write him to be more Slytherin than Gryffindor, this is not a heavy abuse fic. At least not on young Harry's part.

And again** aalens **has been the BETA and thank you for her. Any mistakes you find are due to last minute changes.

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and no money is made with this.

* * *

OF SHADOW, SHINE AND SHADES by dra6on

Chapter 8. Another World

"Okay, so the bathroom is through that door," the mage explained after he'd put the slightly shaken Harry down on the floor in his bedroom. The boy was looking suspiciously around the dark room, his green eyes reflecting the light coming from the hallway. "I'll find you some clothes and you can take a bath. Sorry to say you really need it... Though don't look through the cabinets; there might be some nasty surprises." He waited to see if Harry had any questions and smiled encouragingly when he looked unsure.

"Ah... Who are you?" asked Harry, looking at him warily from beneath his bangs.

"I'm Caelum Black." The wary look didn't disappear and Caelum cocked his head to the right, wondering what was wrong. Harry wasn't even looking him in the eyes. It was rather like... "Oh!" the mage exclaimed, causing the raven haired boy to start in surprise and fright. The man immediately began to unveil his face, and smiled at the small boy before him. "Sorry, I completely forgot I still had this on. But it was good I did or I would have had to Obliviate Albus."

"Obu-li-vi-a-tee?" the boy asked taking in his features and Caelum sighed. Unconsciously he sent the veil to the non-place, only to realise his mistake when Harry jumped in surprise and started to inch towards the open door leading to the hallway.

"Harry." His voice was serious and the boy froze and shuddered. "Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you." Caelum kneeled on the floor to be on the same eye level with his younger version. He ran a hand through his free hair in frustration and saw the boy checking the distance between himself and the door. This was not going well.

"Do you know why the wha- your Uncle didn't like you?" Well, one had to start somewhere. Caelum had been nine when he'd discovered he was magical and forced his Aunt to tell him. It was clear that hadn't happened here and Harry seemed to be a tad more _delicate_ than Caelum at his age. Maybe it was a good sign.

Harry blinked at the question. "He said I was... a waste of space. And a freak." At least Caelum now got his attention.

"Do you know _why_ he said those things?" A shake of head. "He was afraid."

"Of me?" Never say the kid wasn't smart, but now Harry was doing a perfect imitation of Gobteeth when Caelum had told the goblin Sirius was innocent. The unsaid afterthought was clearly heard by the mage and he smirked. He got up and stretched before turning the smirk into a grin.

"Yep. Of you. You know all those times you did something weird? Have you ever heard of normal people doing _anything _like that? Like... like..." What had he done before turning five? Who the hell remembered that far back? So he settled for the simplest. "Like _magic?_"

Harry was still looking at him as if he was crazy, but at least now there was also a contemplative look on his face. Caelum refrained from using Legilimency and checking the boy's experiences. Battles were won partly through patience – something he'd learned.

"Think about it while you bathe," the mage said and pointed on the bathroom door that opened seemingly on its own. "Think of every time you've done anything you've only seen in a movie or read about in a book, or something your _Uncle _got mad about. You can take all the time you want and use everything in view to wash yourself with. I'll put your new clothes and a towel on the bed and there will be a White Hawk waiting for you here when you're done. She'll take you to the kitchen." He ushered Harry into the bathroom before adding, "I'm sorry but can you please give me the chance to explain before trying to escape? As I promised, I will take you back if you want to return, and London really isn't a place for ten year olds to wander around in alone."

He closed the door behind him, effectively gaining privacy to do what he needed to do. First he called the Deathly Hallows to him and sent them to non-space, feeling the familiar protection settle over his mind and body once more. After that was done with he pulled a pair of trousers and socks from the wardrobe, as well as a long-sleeved shirt and a robe. It was disheartening how much he had to shrink the clothes before he thought they were small enough to fit Harry. A flick of his fist as he was leaving and the robe turned into a soft terry towel. Caelum quickly strode to the kitchen through the dark hallways. He felt eyes on himself and asked, "Can you please come to the kitchen, Kreacher? We have a guest and I hope he will be staying."

When he arrived all three other occupants of the house were waiting for him; Kreacher with a cup of tea ready, Syl coiled on the table and watching him intently and Citala in her nest on top of the cold box. The tension in the room was tangible but Caelum still took the time to shake off his muggle coat and take a sip of the tea after scanning it for poisons.

"_I felt two personsss when you arrived. You were agitated._" Citala cried silently and Kreacher's pale blue eyes were watchful.

"There is a new human here. His name is Harry and he is... related to me. He is taking a bath right now. Kreacher." The elf perked up. "I don't want you to go near him before I introduce you. He has lived in the muggle world for nine years and doesn't know _anything _about magic. I don't want to scare him any more than I already have."

"_Thisss isss the youngling?_"

"You can understand English?" Caelum did not know why but he found this to be pretty significant.

"_Of courssse I can_." Syl sounded insulted and the mage quickly dropped the subject.

"Okay." He turned to the hawk. "Citala, can you please go to my bedroom and guide him here after he's done? I don't want him getting lost in the upper floors." With a few beats of her wings the hawk took flight and vanished into the hallway after circling once around Caelum's head. He turned to look at the elf, who seemed be restraining himself from asking questions. "The boy is a halfblood, Kreacher," Caelum said. "But so am I. I'll put him into Sirius' room, is that alright? And again, I'm sorry about earlier. I didn't mean to leave without telling."

"Master has apologised." The elf hesitated and Caelum wondered what would cause him not to speak his mind. "Will Kreacher prepare the room? Leave the filthy things in place?"

The mage hid his surprise and wondered what Kreacher might mean. "Please strip it clean of Sirius' things. But please put them all in the attic. I will try to go through them and see what's worth saving." He paused. "Oh, and I'll be leaving with him when he's ready. Just so... you know."

"Krecher thanks the Master. Kreacher will do as Master wishes." The elf popped away without a single insulting word or look. Caelum's thoughts were drawn away from this small miracle when Syl asked, "_The youngling will ssstay?_"

"_Yesss,_" hissed Caelum his reply. He flopped down on the chair and rubbed his eyes. It was only ten in the morning and he was feeling the effect of the sleepless night as if it was fifteen extra years on his age. He raised a glamour to hide the signs of exhaustion, put up wards to alert him and laid his head on the table, opting to rest for a while before thinking about introducing the magical world to the Boy-Who-Lived. It seemed only a second passed when the ward rang and he snapped his head up, only to lay his eyes on the black haired boy fidgeting in his new clothes and pulling on the hem of his shirt. His messy black hair was still wet and was dripping water on his shoulders.

Citala – who had travelled on Harry's shoulder – cried proudly and flew over to perch on her wizard's shoulder and tucked him on a free hair strand before returning to her nest. Syl had apparently claimed his favourite place while the mage slept.

"The clothes fit?" Caelum could see Harry really wasn't comfortable in the new attire.

"I... Yes. Thank you." He sounded unsure and Caelum knew why.

"We can pick some other clothes as soon as the stores open, and I know you might be used to wearing too large garments and I admit I might have guessed the size wrongly." He ran his eyes over the attire appraisingly but averted his gaze as soon as he realized the boy was uncomfortable under his inspection. Shit, if the whale had touched the boy in any way... He coughed to get past the uncomfortable moment and thrust the murderous thoughts to the back of his mind. "So... did you think about it?"

Harry gave him a look that reminded Caelum of trapped beasts appraising their captors. The emerald green eyes shimmered in the natural light filtering through the dirty window glass and the mage knew Harry had noticed the similarity of their eyes and was wondering about it.

"I did."

"And what did you find out?" Oh Merlin, he was going into teacher mode.

"I..." The boy bit his lip and shifted on his feet. "I grew my hair. And I shrunk a shirt. And I... did what we did earlier."

Caelum's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "You Apparated on your own? Where?"

"Apparated?"

Caelum waved his hand dismissively. "Moved from one place to another with the power of magic and mind. When? Where?"

"Dudley and – he's my cousin – I was trying... to hide behind the trash cans – and then I was on the roof." Harry blushed.

"Well, that's impressive. Normally wizards don't learn Apparition until they're sixteen, and even then they are only allowed to do it on their own after turning seventeen." He watched, amused, how Harry's eyes glazed over at the word wizard until the same eyes narrowed in distrust. Caelum sighed. "No, I am not kidding you. I am dead serious. It is called accidental magic and it happens to wizards and witches when they are still too young to correctly channel their power. Or when they are consumed by a strong emotion. This again," he levitated his tea cup in the air and sent it spinning with a twirl of his finger before letting it descend back onto the table, "is called wandless magic. It's pretty rare and difficult to learn, which is why most wizards and witches learn to use a wand." He smiled at Harry's gobsmacked expression and extended his hand to the boy, his holly wand appearing on it. "Give it a try. This is my wand but it should work pretty well for you."

Harry's hand was shaking as the small fingers closed around the wood. The wand had already bonded to Caelum and could not bond to two people, no matter how similar they were. So Harry, not unexpectedly, ended up looking at Caelum in confusion, embarrassment, and suspicion. Caelum chuckled.

"Try saying... _Diminuendo_ while pointing it at the cup, and think how you want it to be smaller. Just concentrate on the cup shrinking and will it to happen. And pronounce _Diminuendo _correctly."

The Gobteeth imitation was back but the boy seemed to decide it was better to do as the crazy person dictated, and awkwardly pointed the wand at the cup. He crunched his forehead together, narrowed his eyes in concentration and called out, "_Diminuendo!_" getting the pronunciation right on the first try.

The cup started to vibrate against the table and Harry gasped loudly when the handle of the cup shrunk to half of its original size. Caelum grinned, pleased at performance, but he was also a bit worried. Harry's magic had flared around the boy and there was something very different about it compared to Caelum's... well, natural magic, even if it was still in an exhausted state. He should find about it after he'd found out more about Harry himself and earned his trust.

"Can I have it back?"

Harry stared at him, then at the wand. He opened his mouth then closed it. The green eyes reflected his mixed feelings and Caelum smiled calmly. "You'll get your own after you turn eleven. But I think you are pretty hungry and I believe I promised to take you to a McDonald's to eat, didn't I?" He extended his hand and Harry gave him back the wand, handling it almost reverently.

The boy bit his lip when the wand vanished from sight. It was clear he had many questions but his bringing-up – if one could call it that – was halting his tongue, and Caelum deflated at the thought of how big a task he had ahead of him. He needed to bring Harry out of his shell but he did not want... what? To implement all of his own thoughts onto the boy? He didn't know a single thing about parenting. Oh, ask him to lead an army to a battle and he was in his element, but parenting... But there was one thing he knew for certain; Harry had freedom of will and Caelum was going to let him make his own choices. Which meant introducing all aspects of magic in an unbiased manner and making sure Harry knew Wizarding society's view on certain branches of magic. The mage frowned. Even he didn't know _what_ views they held in this alternative version of his world.

"Mr Black?"

He snapped out of his contemplation and smiled at the nervous boy while putting his coat back on. "You can call me Caelum. Now, let's get something to eat." He offered his arm to the boy. "I'm going to Apparate us." He caught onto the apprehensive look on the small face and his smile turned comforting. "I know it's a bit unpleasant but bear with it, 'kay? It's the fastest way and we need to fly under the radar."

Harry slowly grasped his arm and without warning Caelum sent them squeezing through the tube. They ended up changing location five times until Caelum found a food place that was _open_ and _existing._ The screamingly bright lights hurt his eyes but Harry seemed to quickly get over the unpleasantness of the travelling method and skipped to the door without waiting for Caelum. When the boy realised what he was doing he halted and turned to look at the older wizard with a red tinge on his face.

"First time?" Caelum inquired lightly and Harry nodded, beaming up at him. He seemed to relax more and more as they got their food and found seats.

For a couple of minutes there was nothing to be heard but the sounds of eating as Harry wolfed down the cheeseburger and his fries with a speed that had the mage's expression darken briefly when the implications of such hurry sunk in. Caelum pushed the tray with his food on it towards the ravenous little boy and told him to eat more slowly or he'd end up throwing up everything. It was still only after finishing the mage's fries that Harry seemed to remember Caelum had promised to explain.

"Ask me anything. The people around us won't hear," Caelum said, taking the initiative.

"Why not? Is it magic?"

Caelum took a moment to look at the boy who was sitting at the edge of his seat and had his eyes glowing in excitement. One shower and a meal and he was already looking better. Or maybe it was because there was something interesting in his life again. Caelum smiled fondly when he remembered his own realization that magic was real.

"Yes. It is called a privacy ward. And I coupled it with a Notice-Not spell that makes people look away. I can't actually perform any flashy magic here because the camera would still record it, even if the muggles would feel compelled not to concentrate on the monitor. But someone with the slightest magical potential could easily realize something was off, even if he didn't know what." He leaned back in his chair, waiting for the questions.

"Muggles? There's flashy magic? Potential?" Harry was practically vibrating with excitement. Caelum chuckled and felt Syl shift, but luckily the snake kept quiet and out of sight.

"Yes, muggles are what magical people and creatures call non-magical people. And sometimes when a spell is created it leaves the wand – or hand – as a conjuration of light. A Stupefy is red – it makes you faint – and a Patronus Charm takes the form of an animal you can relate to." At the confused look he elaborated. "It is formed of your happiest memories and can repel creatures known as Dementors. They suck the happiness out of you and at worst your soul." The boy stopped eating Caelum's burger and his eyes widened. The mage nodded. "Yes, magic isn't all candies and sunflowers. It has a darker side and it can be used to hurt people." He paused and took the burger right out of the boy's hands and nailed him down with his intense stare. "Your parents... they were killed by a Dark wizard."

Harry did not seem to comprehend him at first but then understanding dawned in his eyes and he cried out, "But Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia said they died in a car crash! And that my Dad was a useless drunk and Mum was..." He trailed off, his mind catching up with his mouth. Caelum gave him the burger back but the boy seemed to have lost his appetite.

"The Dursleys fear everything magical and they wanted nothing to do with it and no one to know they had magical relatives. They wanted to 'beat it out of you'. In fact your father and mother were very powerful magically and good people that many liked and respected. They were killed by a wizard named Voldemort who at the time of your birth was gaining power and wanted to rule the world and shape it after his beliefs."

He waited for Harry to absorb all the information and used the time to make sure they weren't causing a scene. There were two men both eating alone near the counter and the two employees were gossiping quietly. No one was paying them attention. None of the muggles had even blinked when Harry had shouted out loud.

"There were many reasons, but Voldemort decided to personally kill your parents. I'm... not sure about the circumstances but I think he got your father first and then your mother. And when he turned to kill you... the Killing Curse rebounded off you and hit him instead. And he vanished." Harry's eyes had gradually grown larger and larger and were now on the point of bulging out. Caelum was afraid he might go into shock, and put his coke next to the forgotten half of a burger. "Drink a bit. There's more to tell."

Harry blanched at that but complied, putting the straw in his mouth and drinking. He paused when a shudder passed over his tiny body and Caelum realized he'd yet again forgotten the need for a coat. He shrugged his off and handed it to the boy who after a moment's clueless stare wrapped it around his shoulders. Caelum tapped Syl with his right index finger, putting a Disillusionment charm on him when Harry's attention was elsewhere. He did not want to discuss Parseltongue quite just yet.

"I know this is all a surprise but I think you have a right to know. Ah... no one but you has ever survived the Killing Curse. No one. But you got left with only a scar on your forehead." He paused as Harry's hand shot to his forehead and traced the lightning bolt. "That is why in the magical world you are famous. They call you the Boy-Who-Lived." Harry was starting to look disbelieving again so Caelum shrugged. "Personally, I think it doesn't matter."

Harry blinked and his face fell. Caelum was pretty sure he read disappointment on the boy's face. "I... I think you got a wrong person. I can't be a..." He spoke in hushed tones, the years of verbal abuse evident in his posture. Caelum sighed and reached over the table to ruffle the now dry hair with a small smile playing on his lips. Harry jumped at the contact but allowed it.

"You saw what you did with the cup, right? You are a wizard and magic is real. What I have told you is the truth. Magic isn't simple and people are _always _complex. But you have your free will to choose to become what you want to be and that's what I want to offer you. I want to give you a home, and let you find your place in this other world without being influenced by others." The mage leaned back in his chair. "There is a lot I can't tell you right now because there are people in the magical world with the ability to read thoughts and I can't have anyone knowing my secrets without trusting they'd be able to keep them."

"I... I... I..." Harry took a fortifying breath. "This is real? I'm not dreaming?"

He looked so vulnerable in the big coat, the green eyes clouded with mixed feelings peering at Caelum from beneath the dark bangs. The mage suddenly felt the absolute certainty that he had done the right thing by getting Harry out of that cursed household, even if it did complicate his life significantly.

"You're not dreaming. This is all real. You're famous in the magical world for something you survived as a 15 month old baby, and the magical world is expecting you to rejoin them come September when the new school year starts." Caelum ran his hand through his hair and conjured a leather bind to tie it with. "Hogwarts. You'll be going there when you turn eleven. Or at least you will get a letter and then it's up to you to choose whether or not you want to go." He blinked realising he'd completely forgotten about something. "Hey, check the pockets of my coat to see if there are papers and a black case in there."

Harry complied and soon the adoption papers and the blood quill were sitting on the table between them. Caelum had of course first cleaned the table with a Scourgify_._

"I'd like you to sign these. They are the adoption papers, and though technically I already have custody of you, it'd be really great if you too would sign. It sort of seals the deal permanently and then when someone challenges the custody I have proof you weren't forced." He shrugged and tapped the pile of parchment with his finger. "These are magically binding and spelled to only accept the signer's assent while they are in the full health of soul and body." He grinned. "It was good neither of the Dursleys had a cold at the time."

Harry was now staring at him with an unreadable look on his face and swallowed uneasily. "You really want to adopt me?"

"Of course! I already have, as a matter of fact, but you haven't yet agreed to it and we don't really even know each other but I promise to look after you. Though not in the way Dudley's been looked after but more like-" He took a deep breath to stop the rambling. Harry giggled and Caelum chuckled as well before sobering and taking the quill.

"Wizards use quills for writing – don't ask me why. But this is a special one." He proceeded to explain the quill in a bit more detail than to the Dursleys and conjured a piece of paper to demonstrate on. Harry was more amazed than grossed and did not waste any time to sing his name in all the spots with his horrible handwriting. Caelum could not describe the feeling spreading inside him as he tapped the documents, sending one copy to Gringotts and another to the Ministry, one for him and one for Harry. The boy stared at the paper and the red signatures. He ran his hands over the parchment and Caelum answered his question before it could be voiced, "Parchment. Wizards also use it instead of normal paper. They are sometimes so behind the times. Honestly, sometimes it feels like magic excuses them from using their brains or something..." He shook himself visibly and got to his feet. "We better put a move on. If Albus was expecting that he could try to track us and I'm not wearing a mask. Just in case..." He looked at one of the employees and silently cast _Imperio_, making sure no video footage would be left of their visit.

Harry grabbed half of a burger off the tray as the mage disposed of the remains of the meals into the litter box , before leading Caelum outside. The mage made sure to hide them both behind trashcans before grabbing Harry's shoulder and Dissapparating soundlessly.

He should have chosen some other room. He should have warned Harry beforehand. But as it was there was nothing to do as they appeared in the kitchen only to surprise Kreacher in the middle of washing the window. Harry just stared, immobilised in the spot but Kreacher let out a long wail before disappearing. Unfortunately he had decided to return to his hole that was directly jointed to the kitchen, meaning there was only a thin wall separating them from the sounds the elf was making.

Caelum sighed in defeat.

"What was that?" Harry asked, his voice shaking and looking around as if the mini troll might attack him from any direction. Not the kind of first meeting Caelum had pictured.

"That was Kreacher. He is my house elf and I ordered him not to be seen by you... which is why he's now crying and probably punishing himself." Caelum let go of Harry and walked to the door leading to the boiler room, or Kreacher's den.

"I am not angry, Kreacher," Caelum called over the bangs and wails that stopped as suddenly as they had begun. "Would you please come out? I'd like to introduce you now that Harry's seen you," he said into the silence.

A pop sounded to his left and Caelum turned around, cocking his head at the dishevelled appearance of his elf. Harry was staring at the creature as if the monster from beneath his bed had just made an appearance in broad daylight, and Caelum couldn't really blame him. While Kreacher did look better, he was still far from looking normal – even for a house elf. He had cleaned himself up and the half-dosage of pepper-up had done wonders, but he was still only wearing dirty rags, something Caelum decided was going to change.

"Kreacher, this is Harry. I just adopted him and he'll be living with us. Harry this is Kreacher, the loyal house elf of the Black family." The elf's ears perked up at the praise and he nodded in Harry's direction. The boy said a shy "hi" but would not come closer. He was clutching the coat around him as if it might offer some protection.

"Kreacher is not the only one I wanted to introduce to you. Citala you already met." He pointed at the hawk who was keeping a watchful eye on them from her nest. Harry smiled a bit when his eyes found the beautiful bird but he was still visibly nervous about Kreacher. "And the last but not least is Syl." Caelum prodded the snake around his neck while cancelling the charm and then watched as Harry's eyes widened comically at the sight of snake pulling its head from beneath Caelum's shirt.

"_He will do. But we mussst dissscusss you two later_," the green snake hissed, his tongue flickering out and tasting the air. Harry gasped.

"_It can talk!"_ he hissed, seemingly unaware of his own talent. Caelum grinned.

"_Yesss. Only sssomeone with the talent to ssspeak to sssnakesss can underssstand them. You are at the moment hissssing._"

"_No I'm not_! _I'm ssspeaking Englisssh! And ssso isss he!_" Harry exclaimed, the hissing rising in volume. Caelum turned to Kreacher.

"Did you just now hear him speak English or was he talking Parseltongue?" he asked the elf.

"Master and Young Master were both discussing in the noble language of the snakes." There was again respect in the elf's voice and he was looking at Harry with curiosity. "Is Young Master Dark as well?"

Harry apparently had been about to give another vehement denial when he heard the elf and turned to stare at him in confusion. "Dark?" he asked and looked down on his pale hand. "I don't have dark skin."

Caelum tried not to laugh at the kid's confusion and quietly reprimanded Kreacher, "He found out half an hour ago that magic was real. One ability that's _considered _Dark doesn't matter much. He will make the choice as he grows up." He turned to explain to Harry. "It has nothing to do with your appearance. It just that most people divide magic into three categories: Light, Neutral and Dark. There are differences as Dark magic is most often used to harm people – but can also be used to do good – whereas Light and Neutral magic is accepted by the general public." He shrugged and grimaced. "It's got a lot to do with different Ministries of Magic and in which country you happen to be in and what kind of situation you find yourself to be facing.

"Kreacher says I'm Dark because I have used magic to harm my enemies and those that have tried to harm me, and I have no qualms about using every means necessary to defend my friends and family. But I could also be considered somewhat Light because I disapprove of needless torture and killing and have stood up against Dark Lords like Voldemort. It really depends on the point of view."

Harry was staring at him as if everything the mage had just said had gone over his head. As it probably had. Caelum sighed and scratched his head wondering how he could explain it better. It was like a light bulb lighting up over his head as he remembered the book he bought from the Alley to check the differences between the worlds. He raised his hand. "_Accio_ _A Guide To Wizarding World_."

Ten seconds later a book came flying into the kitchen, forcing the door open on its way and smacked against his waiting hand. He handed it to the eager boy who immediately opened it from the middle. His eyes grew larger yet again and he looked in amazement. "The picture is moving."

"Yep. Wizarding photos, pictures and paintings move. There are a couple of those in the house." He watched Harry struggle with balancing the book on his arms and grinned in remembrance. "You better get used to heavy tomes. Reading about magic is one way to learn and you will be reading a lot in the future."

Harry shot him a glance before hoisting the book on the table and taking a seat and opening the book at the index page. Caelum let him have his space and moved around the kitchen, making decisions about dinner tonight. The thought of eating made him remember his plans for tomorrow morning, and he groaned aloud before summoning writing equipment from the non-space and writing about his added invitees and apologising for the trouble. He also made it read as if the Elders of the Black family would not accept 'no' as an answer and that the Malfoys should expect them all a little before ten tomorrow morning.

The mage sighed and looked up from the letter to find Harry staring at him in curiosity. He smiled and folded the letter before sealing it magically and calling for Citala. "Sorry girl but do you mind taking this to Lucius Malfoy?"

The bird looked displeased but flapped over and accepted the letter after first rubbing her head affectionately against Caelum's cheek. She left via the kitchen window that Caelum hastily spelled open. He put up the wards and let the window remain as it was for his hawk's return.

"She... Citala... Delivers letters?"

"Actually, most wizards use owls and I will buy you one in the summer," Caelum answered, getting the feeling he'd be answering a lot of questions in the near future. "Citala just happened to find me and came with me. And I say I'm from Australia so the British think I'm a bit weird anyway." He played his words again in his head and quickly amended, "Maybe I am – a bit. But normal is overrated anyway."

He shook his head, taking a look around the kitchen. Harry glanced back at his book but a big yawn interrupted his reading and Caelum rose immediately to his feet.

"How much sleep have you been getting?" the mage asked worriedly, knowing no one Harry's age should be yawning at eleven in the morning, especially when something exciting was going on. Harry looked a bit sheepish but mostly defensive and Caelum realised his mistake a tad late.

"Enough," the boy bit out. Caelum managed not to growl in frustration and tried to keep the flood of resentment inside but was unsuccessful. It just hit a bit too close to see himself like this, as something he had already overcome but now had to help his younger version to face.

"I am sorry but you're just going to have to get used to me worrying about m- you, and I will make sure that you get all the sleep and food you need." He pointed at Harry, taking a stance he'd often been subjected to but never thought to assume himself. Harry looked positively bewildered and Caelum forged on, "Dursleys were horrible to you and we are going to fix what they and others did to you. First of all, you look like a seven year old!" Harry bridled at his words and fire lit in his green eyes. "Your magic is exhausted, probably from having to heal and support you for your entire life when it should have been growing and developing in peace! You know nothing about the magical world and the dangers you can expect. You know _nothing _about your parents, your heritage and the position you hold in people's eyes. Albus was going to throw you to the wolves, blinded and bound! Well, I will not stand for it. We are going to get you in shape and I am going to show you the wonders that magic can do, but it will involve a lot of work on both of our parts, which means we'll be pretty busy from now on. You will have to get used to me being a bit forceful, but it will always be for a good reason and you can be sure that I'll explain it all as soon as we get your damn Occlumency up and running. Kreacher!"

The elf popped to the doorway and bowed. "Is Sirius' old room ready?"

"Yes, Master." The elf nodded. "The items are in the attic and Kreacher has changed the linens for Young Master."

"Good." Caelum took a deep breath and blinked when he noticed Syl's head was waving in front of his face. He couldn't interpret the look on his face.

"_Can we talk now that you are done ssshouting?_" the snake asked, sarcasm dripping off the words. Caelum tensed and bored into the black purple hued eyes with his burning ones. The emotions were so strong, and he thought he'd dealt with them years ago, but seeing Harry so ignorant of everything important had him seething. Merlin, he'd been _nine_ when he'd found out about his talents and he'd even managed a couple bursts of directed accidental magic before going to Hogwarts. Harry was... a disappointment in that sense. But he couldn't think of himself like that.

Caelum deflated at the thought and turned to look at the black haired boy who was still sending daggers in his direction. Caelum shook his head in defeat. "I'm sorry," he said, and Harry was clearly surprised and the glaring lessened significantly, as did the suspicion reflected in the green eyes. "I went too far. I am just so angry at everyone who has messed up your life. And don't worry, I'll tell you all about it later and let you draw your own conclusions. But now I think you should really sleep for a bit. How about I wake you up at four for dinner and then I'll show you some magic? Trust me, you'll feel less confused after a little nap."

Harry contemplated the offer and another yawn seemed to make him see reason. The boy closed the book and rubbed his eyes tiredly. Caelum took notice of the badly damaged glasses and made another mental note on his ever growing to-do list.

Sirius' room was on the fourth floor which only hosted two visible doors. Caelum knew from experience that the other room belonged to Regulus and he resolved to go through it at some later time. Now he opened the door leading to Harry's godfather's old room, revealing a bare yet huge room. Even as tired Harry seemed to be, the vast size of the room did not go unnoticed by him, nor did the size of the bed. "This is mine?" asked Harry, doubt creeping into his voice. Caelum chuckled.

"Yes, it is all yours. I'm pretty sure Sirius would want you to stay here." _Unless something is _really_ different in this dimension. _" We can go through his things tomorrow and you can choose what you like until we can hit the stores to find something of your own. It is a bit bare." He stepped inside and walked to the bed, pulling the bedspread aside.

"Caelum?" The unsure voice had him turn around and find Harry standing in the doorway the book in his armpit and looking as unsure as he had sounded. "I... thank you. Who's Sirius?"

Caelum laughed and patted the bed. He did not answer before Harry had chucked his shoes and crawled between the sheets, putting his glasses on the table but never letting go of the book. "He is someone you will hopefully meet soon. I'll tell you his story tonight if you want. Now... _Dormiens._"

Harry's lids closed immediately and Caelum made his way to his bedroom to have the discussion his snake so desperately seemed to want to have.

* * *

A/N: I very much doubt I'll get another chapter out next week. My exams start again soon and they're pretty important for uni application so... It will probably be three weeks until the next chapter comes out but on a happier note you'll also then most likely get first chapters from two other stories AND Caelum's tattoos. I've got them drawn but not in the right colour and they're not satisfactory in my opinion. But please be patient.

Reviews, reviews , reviews :)

I absolutely love reviews!

On another note: My computer broke. I'll have to see if I can find money to get it fixed or money to buy another. So it might actually take longer than three weeks. Dunno... This I'm able to write cause I hooked up my bro's screen to my laptop but he's gonna need it soon so...

_Revised 7/2011_


	10. Truths and HalfTruths

I'm back after a relaxing summer and a not so relaxing start of school.

Thank you for your patience. I mean it. I apologise for going AWOL for such a long time especially when there is not a good reason for it. Sometimes laziness just gets a hold of me.

Moving on! I've had loads of reviews and while I won't go into answering each of them personally, there were some issues that kept repeating themselves.

**About Severus**: It is still going to take a couple of chapters for him to make an appearance but things are speeding up and it shouldn't take too long. Also, some of you expressed concerns about Caelum being a Black and how Severus would take to that. I would like to remind you that while James Potter was from a Light family and the only member of Potter family that we know Severus is associated with, Sirius had a younger brother Regulus with whom Severus was in the same House at the same time with and with whom he was a Death Eater of the same generation. Thus Severus actually has a reason to give Caelum the benefit of a doubt before outright judging him. This is my opinion. And Sirius was branded with the title of family's black sheep in the public's eyes so the name _Black_ still means Dark. In canon Sirius is the last Black and thus Severus directs his distaste towards the family name as well. Am I making any sense?

I can't really remember what other concerns there were... Well, I've revised the earlier chapters though they still haven't been beta'd. Syl is now definitely male and I'm trying to keep an eye out on my habit of calling animals and creatures "it". In Finnish the youngest generation doesn't actually even use "he" except in official situations. Everything is referred to as "it". I actually find it sounds somehow forced if "he" or "she" is used of a familiar person. Modern Finnish, yeah...

There was a concern expressed on Caelum not being very canon Harry and how I've actually created a new character and abandoned the canon altogether. I know it might seem that way but Caelum is very much Harry as you will see in the future and especially when I get to the point of going through his past (not for a long time...)

Oh! I got Caelum's tattoos drawn! Here's the link http :/ silverwing135 .deviantart .com / # / d2yffob  
Just delete the spaces and copypaste it.

And again thank you for **aalens** for betaing and any mistakes you find are due to last minute changes.

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and no money is made with this.

* * *

OF SHADOW, SHINE AND SHADES by dra6on

Chapter 9. Truths and Half-Truths

"_You sssmell the sssame. More than the onesss from lassst night. But he isss not your hatchling either. What isss he?_"

Syl could hiss pretty demandingly when he needed to and Caelum doubted he had noticed the drops of poison that had started to form on the tips of his fangs. The man laid him on the bed and leaned away from the agitated reptile.

"_Becaussse... we are related? Maybe the adoption?_"

"_Do not lie to me!_"

The mage flinched at the lash his mind received but could also feel his anger and annoyance rising at the snake's words. Hell, he'd known him for a couple of days and he acted like his mother! He had the Staff for that, thank you very much, and he did not intend to keep a nanny. He turned his eyes on the snake and knew his magic was shining through his shields.

"_It doesss not concern you. He isss mine, my blood, mine to care for. I do not trussst you to keep my sssecretsss. I do not trussst you to not to tell my enemiesss. And I do not trussst easssily._" He drew in a deep breath and smoothly rose to his feet. The mage gathered his scattering thoughts and reinforced the shields surrounding him and his magic without paying mind to the narrow eyed glare the snake was sending him. He closed his eyes and counted to ten, all the while keeping a watch on Syl through his senses.

When he deemed himself collected enough Caelum looked down upon the snake and smiled sadly. "_I apologissse. I do not take well to othersss demanding thingsss of me._" He sighed and sat down. "_Asss I sssaid it takesss time for me to trussst. I underssstand you have quessstionsss but I cannot anssswer them asss of yet. Nor isss the youngling_," he gestured to the ceiling, "_prepared to know everything._"

The black and purple eyes watched him in silence and the snake's tongue flicked in and out, tasting the air and most probably reassessing Caelum's scent. He waited patiently and was truly glad Citala could not verbally pester him as well. One annoyingly caring pet was enough.

Finally the snake nodded and slithered to him. Caelum kept still as he moved up his arms and around his neck. He was uncomfortable with their positioning but knew their trust would have to start somewhere and the same applied to Harry. The worst was that Caelum couldn't really rely on his own experience in dealing with Harry. The two Potters had had such different childhoods with Caelum's uncle spending it in jail and Harry's uncle being present to terrorize his wife's nephew.

The mage heaved a sigh and carefully plopped on his back on the bed. His thoughts wandered to the breakfast tomorrow and he grimaced as Harry entered the equation. He could hardly bring the Boy-Who-Lived to a breakfast at Malfoy Manor – the residence of one of Voldemort's closest supporters. And leaving Harry alone at this point would take them back many steps. But then again, what other choice did he have? He would just have to make sure the boy was entertained for long enough and return as soon as was polite.

One possibility was leaving Syl with the young wizard but then Caelum would have been defenceless in the manor. Well, not _defenceless _but without backup. He did not trust Malfoy and he had had heavy reasons for strangling the man in his own world. He would first have to go through serious self persuasion before he could even consider allying with the man and possibly luring him from the Dark Lord. But, without Malfoy Tom would be seriously at a disadvantage. Without the Ministry liaison...

_Should I start preparing for the war already? Voldemort only managed to rise in my sixth year in my world. What if my intervention causes him to rise earlier? I wonder what would happen if I destroyed the horcruxes while he was still a spirit..._

This sprung a whole different set of ideas into being for Caelum to ponder on and he spent the better part of the afternoon plotting and planning. By the time the _Dormiens_ wore off on Harry and the kid made his way downstairs still clutching the book in his arms, Caelum had taken over cooking and was in the process of seasoning the chicken. The mage glanced up just as Harry stepped into the room and pointed to the table, smiling when the boy took the seat without a fight or accusations.

He set a glass of milk in front of him and ordered, "Drink."

After making sure Harry was doing so he returned to the stove to check the potatoes. He did not have to wait for long for the questions to start.

"Did you put me under a spell?" At least the boy still managed not to sound accusing.

"Yes, a simple sleep spell. You wouldn't have rested otherwise and I did not want to go through all the explanations only to have to repeat them because you were too tired to remember." He saw the expression on Harry's face. "I _am_ sorry. But even you have to admit that now you are feeling better and possibly have enough energy to stay up till late night."

The kid came very near pouting and finished his milk in silence. "You said something about Sirius?" he finally asked after Caelum had put the chicken in the oven and turned his attention on the salad. It was a pathetic Christmas dinner but gas stations were not known for their selection. He didn't even have gifts for Harry, even though he'd promised to take him shopping once the stores would open again.

"Sirius?" The mage started cutting tomatoes. "I don't know much and I'm not sure how much of this is accurate... But from what I can tell he was supposed to be the one looking after you. He was your father's best friend in school for seven years and after that they worked together." The books had listed James' occupation in this world also as an Auror, and Sirius' too, he'd found out from the papers Gobteeth had given him. "Sirius was betrayed after your parents' murder and framed and he's now in Azkaban. The wizarding prison." Harry gasped at that. His eyes had grown to the size of plates.

"But he's innocent and I have a lawyer working on his case. Also the public think I'm his half-brother so stick with that theory if someone happens to ask you." Caelum shrugged and sent all ingredients for the salad into a bowl with a flick of his wrist. "I doubt that is going to happen because I intend to keep you hidden until September when you go to school."

"Because of that old man that attacked us?" Harry asked, clearly trying to get the whole picture. Caelum scrunched his face in thought.

"I don't like him but he's got a phoenix which should be impossible if he was bad..." Caelum knew the mystery of Albus Dumbledore gaining the trust of a phoenix would be a mystery that would cause him headaches far into the future. "I simply don't know enough. He might be good but he might also be out to use you and I say we stay out of his radar until we know for sure, huh?"

Harry nodded seriously and was about to continue his questioning but Caelum interrupted, "There's also this problem of me promising to go to a breakfast tomorrow and I can't bring you with me."

Harry stared at him in incomprehension. "Why would you want to take me with you?" he asked, puzzled.

"Because I adopted you? Because you're family? And I dislike leaving you alone in this house so soon after meeting you."

"Oh." The boy deflated and Caelum went through his words to see what would cause such a reaction and nearly cussed aloud when he realized his mistake. "Harry, it's not like that." The boy looked up and Caelum had to again fight the urge to simply hug the kid. It was lucky he was busy rummaging through the cabinets for a salt shaker. "This is an old and dark house. There are things here that might hurt you. It's not about me not trusting you because I do, I really do. It's the house I don't trust, and I've only been living here for a couple of days. And I know you don't want anyone hovering over your shoulder all the time but at least for now I'm too worried to simply let you do whatever you want? You understand?"

The boy was again surprised and Caelum was getting frustrated with himself all the time tripping up on some issues the kid had. He hadn't been this problematic, had he? But there really was no point in comparing his and Harry's childhoods. Maybe if he'd got here four years earlier, but not anymore.

Which meant he was on his own with a ten year old kid that had just found out his only relatives had been lying to him all of his life.

The mage shook his head and fished the chicken from the magical oven. He noticed Harry was watching every move he made and reminded himself that the kid had probably been the one responsible for most of cooking in the whale's house. Deciding to play a little game, Caelum sent his magic all over the room and smugly watched from the side how everything floated to their places at the end of the giant table, and how Harry let out gasps of surprise. He obediently moved the book to a chair when the gold tinted plate kept nudging it to make room and then followed in fascination as everything stopped moving.

"Now," Caelum said as he discarded the apron and took a seat opposite to Harry. Food started flying to their plates. "I know Dursleys did not give you much to eat. Even if," he silenced Harry with a look, "they did not starve you, growing up in that cupboard has stunted your growth so you'll be lucky to grow to my height. I only suffered for five years, you've been with them for nine. I think we might need to take you to a Healer to make sure you don't need an additional regimen or something." Indignation flared in Harry's green eyes behind the lenses and the boy swallowed furiously in order to speak.

"Harry, none of this has happened because of you," Caelum tried to soothe the boy. "Now, there are some very Dark magics that might correct the situation and you would grow to the height you would have been had the situation been different. But they include Soul magics and growing a new body for you. Personally, being short is not nearly as much of a hindrance as one might think-"

"I am not weak!"

Caelum jerked in surprise and Syl let out a long disgruntled hiss as he was disturbed in his sleep. The mage hurriedly rubbed the snake around his throat. "I did not mean to imply you were. I am the average height and in battle it's easier to avoid being hit when only half the people are shorter than you. And as you can see I'm not some bodybuilder." He raised his arm. Wearing only a tee, the lithe muscles on his arm were clearly visible and Caelum knew looking at him everyone could only guess at the power he carried. Try explaining that to a ten year old though.

"So I won't be tall?" Harry sounded very displeased to hear that and passive Legilimency let Caelum peek on the reason. He sighed and leaned back in his chair. Everything seemed to circle back to the whale and the other Dursleys.

"No, but you will have other means at your disposal. I think this has something to do with your uncle? He used to tower over you?"

Harry shrugged but the mage saw it was to hide the shiver that ran through his frame. "Uncle Vernon is a big man."

"He looks like a beached whale." Caelum snorted and Harry nearly choked on his chicken trying to stifle the giggling. "Wizards are not automatically better than muggles but _you _are better than the _Dursleys._" Caelum drew a deep breath. "In the future if you want to face them you can. But for now try to put them behind you. You are strong and being short is not something you can change. Learn to use it to your advantage. That's about all you can do."

Harry turned his attention to the dinner and Caelum let the boy brood in silence concentrating on the food before him. Citala flew to him and he fed her couple of strips from his chicken. He noticed Harry scrunching his nose and grinned inwardly when he remembered what Petunia would have said should someone have fed an animal off _her_ table. Maybe someone had... But he no longer remembered.

"How's my cooking?"

"It's really great," Harry replied after swallowing. He was on his second helping now and Caelum knew he'd have stop him soon lest the boy be sick on his table. He had eaten at McDonalds just this morning.

"Good. I make most of my food myself though Kreacher sent me some nasty glares when I ordered him to clean instead. House elves think they should do all the work." Caelum smiled. "Especially if they are treated well. And from that we get to the few rules I have."

He nailed Harry down with a serious gaze and was glad that he instantly had the boy's full attention. "Kreacher thinks of himself as a servant but to me he isn't. He will do most of the household work but should he ask your help you will help him. And pay no mind to his ramblings. He is a bit old and his previous Mistress was insane.

"Also, I would appreciate it if you didn't wander outside for the time being. There's too much you don't know about London to find your way. And like I said, if at any given time you feel you want to return to your relatives I will take you there and make sure they take you back. Though it will be pretty hard to nullify the adoption especially because it was written with blood and you also signed." He sighed and leaned back in his chair rubbing his forehead. The mage could still feel the boy's eyes on him but continued without meeting them. "Basically the same thing applies in the entire house that applied in the bathroom. The only places cleaned of dark and dangerous artefacts are the kitchen, your room, my room and the drawing room. Those are the ones I had time to go through, and you can use my bathroom. Oh, I guess the library is alright. It just contains some pretty dark tomes that I wouldn't have you read as your first introduction to magical world."

Harry looked at him questioningly and opened his mouth, "When will you come back? From that breakfast..."

"I'll try to come back as soon as I can. Before lunch probably." It was a surprise to realise that the kid was actually worried about him. Or about being left alone. Such differences in the worlds.

Caelum shook his head in bemusement and decided to leave Syl behind when he went tomorrow. Just in case.

The mage emerged from the fireplace soot all over him and nearly tripping over his own feet. One swish of his hand corrected the state of his clothing but he couldn't help but tense up in this familiar environment. But his mental defences were finally working at full power and this past battleground failed to affect him as strongly as it would have yesterday.

The grandeur of the place was impressive nonetheless, and Caelum noticed that many of the artefacts lit up in various colours under his eyes. Magic was all around him – as it should be in a mansion of a family as old as the Malfoys. But it was not the blinding magic of Gringotts and Privet Drive wards that were basically Light and meant for protection. This was Dark and sly with an undercurrent of coldness.

"Ah, Mr Black. Welcome to Malfoy Mansion. We were waiting for you."

The mage turned to face the host of this breakfast. Not a hair was misplaced on Malfoy senior's head and the man practically radiated cold confidence. The Black Head tilted his head and Caelum allowed a smirk to rise on his lips. His black eyes noticed the slight twitch that had developed on the corner of the blonde's mouth and he found it satisfying – although making the man scream in pure agony might be more fitting... but he'd had time to reinforce his mental shields last night and was under control.

"I apologise. I hope you have not had to wait for too long?"

A blank mask descended on Malfoy's face and the smirk left Caelum's face only for a soft smile to appear. "I am quite anxious to meet my blood relatives again."

"They seem to be in a similar state," Lucius replied smoothly and motioned for Caelum to follow him. The two fell into step side by side. Malfoy was obviously proud of his heritage and kept pointing out different objects that the family had collected over the years. Caelum kept up a façade of polite interest until a beautifully crafted staff, held on the wall by iron supports, caught his eye. He had to stop and take a better look.

"You have an interest in crafting?"

The mage let his eyes travel over the intricate carvings on the wood, which were untouched by time. It was a staff meant for fighting and casting, at least four hundred years old. Crafted as it was, of magical Everwood, any raw magic channelled through it would double. He wondered if Malfoy knew what he was so nonchalantly keeping on display. If he was in another situation perhaps he could buy the staff but Malfoy was certainly not going to part with something of which he did not know the exact value, and it would be wasted on the mage as he already had his Staff and Emerald.

"I have been trained to fight with many weapons. It is just rare to see a staff as old as that." He dismissed the object with a shrug and continued on his way making Lucius stride quickly after him. There was a calculating look in the older wizard's eyes that Caelum detested. But there was nothing he could do about it.

The double doors on his left opened and Caelum strode inside confidently. He let his eyes travel over the group gathered there. He immediately recognized Cassiopeia, Arcturus, Melania and Lucretia. The remaining blondes could be none other than Draco and Narcissa.

Letting his eyes scan the young boy Caelum was hard pressed not to try and search for similarities between this one and the one he'd known for the past fourteen years. The kid looked as he remembered Draco being on their first time meeting. The same slicked back hair and arrogant pose. The wizard hid his smile by bowing to the room at large.

"Good morning."

"It is about time you showed up! How long were you planning on making us wait?"

"Good morning to you too, Aunt Cassiopeia." Caelum walked to the seat reserved for him between Lucius and Arcturus and wandlessly manoeuvred his chair in position before sitting down gracefully. He spied the jerk of surprise that Lucius couldn't hide from the corner of his eye.

The old witch drew in a sharp breath and the mage turned his full attention on her. He pierced her with his currently black eyes and the witch froze with her mouth hanging open. These people would be in for a nasty surprise if they thought him to be as agreeable now as he'd been a couple days ago.

They started slowly, making introductions and small talk and eating while waiting for someone to make the first move to actually address the matters at hand. Caelum listened and put in his own opinion when it was needed. It was actually quite informative; finding out about all the rumours and current affairs. He couldn't believe the Slytherins were actually offering him such a chance. But then again, they too were gaining by this.

"Mr Black, I heard you set up a meeting with Gringotts' goblins on your first day in magical Britain. Is this true?" Narcissa slyly put in when they'd finished with a particularly juicy bit of gossip about goblins seizing the Faldon family's manor due to unpaid loans.

"Ah, yes. Well, almost. I arrived on Friday and visited Gringotts on Sunday after closing time." He smiled knowingly. Malfoy would have to grab the bone he'd thrown him.

"After closing?" And he did, looking pleasantly surprised as was only proper. "Your relations with the goblins must be very good. I believe Lucretia mentioned earlier that they received news of your arrival from the prince of goblins himself. One has to wonder what you've done to achieve such trust. Goblins rarely acknowledge wizards as anything other than a source of income." Lucius looked as if just by talking about the lower beings he was dirtying himself somehow.

_They might respect you if you did the same_, Caelum commented silently. Aloud he replied, "I have had dealings with many races in the past. One learns to direct the conversation quite quickly because disasters always lurk in the background when dealings with different races are occurring. Take for example ICW; it consists entirely of humans while also making decisions on the behalf of and affecting magical creatures and beings."

"You see quite modern in your views. Is this a result of your upbringing?" Melania put in.

The mage shrugged. "I think it is a consequence of the different environments and situations I've had to face. You learn to respect the vampires' ability to fight when you are facing three at once and one seizes your wand, second traps your arms and third goes for your neck. And-"

"How did you _survive_?"

As soon as the words slipped from Draco's mouth the kid blushed and ducked his head for a moment before deciding the damage had already been done and continued his staring of Caelum. The mage tilted his head.

"Forgive my son, he should know when to stay quiet." Malfoy senior directed a cold glare at his son, whose blush only deepened. "I am certain he is most ashamed. Apologise, Draco."

"No need," Caelum interrupted and smiled mischievously. "There is no book that will tell this tale so I truly am the only source and it would have shown even worse decorum to return to the subject after I deemed it dealt with." Caelum was pretty sure Draco was starting to like him as he was actually defending the boy against his father. "Well, the short story is that I was involved in a skirmish between a small wizarding community and a larger vampire infestation. My... partner and I were travelling, searching for some obscure potions ingredient that had only been mentioned in tales of the distant past. So we were attacked while passing by. He dealt with two while I got three of those buggers on me." Draco was a good listener. He was actually holding his breath. "So when the third went for the kill I summoned three branches wandlessly and dusted all three at the same time." He held out his hand and a ball of fire appeared starting everyone in the room. The ball took the form of a dragon and took the air, circling the room once before reaching Caelum and dissipating above his head. "I suppose fire would have worked just as well."

"You did not lie when you said you had been trained," Lucius commented and the calculative glint in his eyes was back at full force."Tell, me what can you do exactly?"

Was he for real? "I am certain my relatives can be of help in that matter. Now, unfortunately, I have another appointment today so unless there is anything else, I really should be going. "He could not help the smirk that rose on his lips before the angered eyes of his relatives, and tilted his head to the side. "I do apologise for my breach of etiquette, but as I have only just arrived to this country there are many matters that need my attention."

Everyone was staring at him, but his eyes were drawn to the familiar stormy grey eyes. Draco was looking confused and scandalized at his behaviour. The mage blinked and all the leftover food vanished from the dishes leaving them sparkling clean. The kid's eyes turned to the size of saucers.

"One does wonder where you obtained such power." Lucius Malfoy commented dryly but there was a hunger in his eyes that Caelum couldn't help but notice. Bile rose in his throat but he forced it down.

He had to be strong and unaffected.

"Ah... This, you mean?" A ball of blue energy appeared over his right palm where it quickly divided into five smaller balls that switched to hover over the tips of his fingers. He turned his hand over and the balls travelled along his fingers only to unite over the back of his hand and vanish. "It requires discipline, will, and plenty of luck to achieve. I lost count of how many times I nearly died."

"But it is obtainable by everyone?" Arcturus queried with his raspy voice. They wanted information about his abilities? Wanted his power? Tough luck.

"I did not say that. And it is not family magic, so I have no obligation to share the secrets of my success with you." He glanced out of the big windows standing as two walls of the room. By the sun it was nearing eleven o'clock. "Wands and staffs were invented for a reason. Most wizards are not in tune with their magic enough to even feel it and the magical core of the wand encompassed in the natural magic of the wood acts as a channel, enabling them to draw greater amounts of magic from their cores. No need for rituals to draw magic from nature and use their own pitiful control to guide it." He shrugged. "Then there are those few that _are _in tune with their magic and can directly manipulate it with no need for tools."

There was a moment's silence that was broken by Melania just before Caelum was about to get up. "That is truly fascinating." Her forehead wrinkled even more that it already was and a thoughtful expression rose on her aged face which was framed by white curls. "But how is it that I sense no magic from you? If I did not know better, I would say you were a muggle – or a squib at best."

Caelum's eyes shot to the second oldest person present before relaxing. "You have talent in sensing? Perhaps it _is _the Black blood that enables my ability", he mused almost to himself. While it was true he was not magically sensitive naturally, he had to have had some kind of hereditary talent to start with. Talent that had now grown into allowing him to see magic meant to be invisible.

"What other blood could it be?"

Caelum raised a brow in challenge at Lucretia who had posed the question. He had no intention of telling these people anything of his other powers and heritages. He sighed and let his eyes travel across the walls searching for a way to deflect their curiosity.

"You already know my history," he began slowly, carefully thinking over each of his words. "I informed you of it two days ago. The identity of my mother is in no way any of your business. I am the Head of the Black family and the magic recognizes me. I might respect you for your age and the power you possess but that does in no way obligate me to listen to you. Where I choose to take this family is my decision." He nodded to Lucius and his family. "Draco and Narcissa are recognized as members of the Black family and shall remain so unless their actions force me to remove them." He sighed and looked at the other wizards and witches through half-lidded eyes. They seemed to be gathering their thoughts and assessing him. Had he not had years of experience sitting in war council with nearly hostile allies he might have been uncomfortable. This was like a walk in the park compared to the hateful and loathing looks he'd been receiving from the non-humans in the early stages of the Chaos War.

"You think you can tell me what to do?" Cassiopeia asked icily and the mage realized she was gripping her wand beneath the table. "You are decades too early to tell me what to do!"

He felt the Dark spell before it even left the witch's wand. He threw his chair back and twisted out of the way with the reflexes honed by long years of training. The blood red spell flew past him harmlessly but impacted with the wall with a mighty explosion. A flick of Caelum's wrist had the woman flying against the opposite wall. She crumbled to the floor with no strength left and a hint of fearful insanity in her eyes as her and Caelum's gazes locked.

"The gap is too great," the mage informed the room detachedly. "Furthermore you just attempted to kill the Head of your House. By the Black law I am entitled to take your life. Isn't that right Arcturus Black?"

The old man simply bowed his head but both Melania and Lucretia stood up slamming their hands against the table in synchronization. Mother and daughter clearly possessed the same temper, but before they could open their mouths to clearly chew Caelum up, the mage raised his hand and silenced them magically.

"However, as the offence happened in the household of the Malfoy family, the Head of Malfoy family has the right to an opinion." The mage turned his black eyes on the blond haired man who was regarding him silently, the previous hunger hidden behind the coldness of the grey eyes. He detested dealing with the situation in such a manner but there was no other choice. The pureblood courtesies and traditions had been pounded into him and acting against them now would cause a serious offence.

"Attacking the Head is a serious matter. However, I trust that the new Head of the Black family is fully capable on deciding Cassiopeia Black's fate as long as the Malfoy family is compensated for the damage."

Caelum glanced at the damaged wall and gave a curt nod of agreement. He turned to Cassiopeia. "I will not take what's left of your life, nor will I punish you in any other way other than barring your access to the London townhouse. As it is clear I have a need to protect myself, the townhouse is now off-limits to everyone. I will not be responsible for the consequences that befall anyone who tries to break through the wards." He pressed the ring between his fingers and the magic acquiesced.

"Now that that is out of the way, I shall return home. It has been... riveting." The mage ran his hand over the robes and they arranged themselves smoothly around his frame. He nodded to his Black relatives, bowed in the direction of Narcissa, silently regretting a missed chance at getting to know her, and smiled at Draco who was regarding him with respect in his eyes. He wondered how his rival-turned-war-comrade would turn out. At least with Harry in his custody he could try to affect the animosity between the two children.

"Mr. Malfoy I apologise for the behaviour of my relatives." He opened his money sack and rummaged through it for a while before coming across a sizable emerald. "I also apologise for not going through the proper channels, but I hope this is enough for the compensation." He placed the emerald on the table and everyone's eyes were drawn to it. It reflected the sun's rays over the walls and sparkled like the true goblin craftsmanship it was.

The mage smiled and bowed to the Head of the Malfoy family. "I can show myself out. I hope our next meeting ends on more agreeable terms."

He left the people in the room and hurried through the hallways, a house elf trailing after his hurried steps. There was an uneasiness present in him that urged him to check on Harry. His instincts were practically screaming at him to get home before something irreversible occurred.

He nearly threw himself into the fireplace and coughed out the destination at the last minute. The world started to spin and the fireplace spit him out into a heap onto the floor. The mage rolled onto his toes and got up, an answer ready on his tongue for Tom's questions but froze.

This wasn't the Leaky Cauldron.

_I really, really should start to pay better attention to my surroundings_, he reprimanded himself as he took in the state of his unintended destination. He seemed to be in a cave of some kind. There were everburning torches mounted on the rugged stone walls and they illuminated the pitiful furniture; only a bed and a writing desk with a chair. The mage moved closer to them and jumped in surprise when the magic let out a long wail and the furniture disappeared from sight. Conjurations. As his magic disturbed the balance in the cave the old magic gave out.

Looking around, Caelum ascertained there was no floo powder in this place and cursed when he found anti-apparition wards around the place. Some well crafted ones as well, with the foundation on a rune stone and the magic linked through it. He could break it but it would take some time. Time which he did not have since after his arrival his instincts had developed into almost physical sensations and at the moment were screaming for him to be with his young ward.

Caelum sent his magic around and but found no secret passages. Whoever built this place apparently really wanted their solitude. The question passed through his mind – why would anyone want to hew a room into solid rock and even go to the extent of furnishing it and connecting it to the floo and then leave the connection open for someone unlucky to stumble through? Wait. The fireplace.

He turned back to his used entrance and peeked up the flue. He could see the clear blue skies up high and sighed in relief. Some simple levitation magic and the wizard was shooting up the flue, spider webs and grime attaching themselves onto his hair and frame along the way. He shuddered in disgust when the journey finally ended and he was propelled down on to the ground as the spell suddenly died out in the open space. as even he couldn't fly on his own.

Taking in his surroundings, the mage found himself sitting on the edge off a cliff. Two feet from him the cliff dropped a hundred feet into an ocean surface broken by sharp rocks. The wretched feeling in his gut grew tenfold and he Dissapparated to Black House, but not before taking one last look around the place, just in case he ever saw the need to return.

The house was silent as he silently appeared in the kitchen. Citala greeted him from her perch and only a second later Kreacher appeared, bowing low.

"Welcome home, Master."

"Kreacher, where is Harry?"

"Young Master is on the second floor explor-"

Caelum cursed under his breath and was running up the stairs before Kreacher could even finish his sentence. He flew up the stairs, disturbing portraits in his haste and skidded to a halt when he heard voices. Of _two _people.

"So, tell me, young brat, what's this I hear about a new mudblood Black Head?"

The mage froze on the doorstep of the room with a serpent-shaped doorknob as a million thoughts burned and crashed in his mind. There, warily regarding a talking portrait was Harry, and the man in the portrait was none other than Phineas Nigellus Black, the most hated headmaster of Hogwarts.

* * *

A/N: Another cliffhanger. Well, the next chapter gives an idea on what the future holds for Harry and Caelum. Wait for it (hepofully not for too long) and don't forget to review!

I'm off to write a presentation on Hemingway and his works.


	11. Changes to NonExistent Plans

And another chapter out. Again it took longer than I'd like but what can you do when school and life get in the way?

A couple of reviews I felt should be addressed publicly:

**Mashulika: **You are right but as I have explained before, Caelum is a mess at the moment. He's suffering from severe depression and, while I haven't out right gone and said it, I have been hinting at it and writing the symptons out. When a person is depressed they tend to forget things, and its difficult to sometimes follow the most logical path. And sometimes you can even fool yourself into acting like nothing's wrong but the depression still affects everything. He's slowly healing but it's going to take time. As for Caelum's non-chalant attitude towards the safety of his home... well, I'll elaborate on that in the future but there is a reason. And he hasn't dealt with kids in a decade and is used to people doing as he commands. Also, Caelum wasn't the Light Lord, and I have my own spin on the title. Thanks for the review and the criticism is greatly appreciated.

**Shamedodra: **The same answer at least partly as with **Mashulika**, and may I just say that even the most experiences soldiers can freeze up when suddenly coming up against someone they'd strangled to death. Caelum is (still) only human and is not perfect. And I apologise for not warning about the angst but family and romance are the _main _themes. I could argue that this story has adventure, hurt/comfort, drama, fantasy, friendship and suspense as well as angst and I have added the warning to the Notes and Warnings listed in the first chapter. Also, Caelum's Occlumency shields were very nearly shattered with his arrival and, as this chapter points out, they are different than the usual ones. And I'm sure you'll be glad to hear we've gone through most of angst but there is still that first meeting between Severus and Caelum that I'm sure I can't write without commenting on Caelum's inner pain. Thank you for giving me the chance to explain myself.

And everyone who reviewed... Gyaah! I love you for taking the time to tell your appreciation and I always read your comments with a smile on my face, even the flames. So, thank you.

Now, the story. And **aalens **again betad and any mistakes you find are due to last minute changes.

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and no money is made with this.

* * *

OF SHADOW, SHINE AND SHADES by dra6on

10. Changes to Non-Existent Plans

Harry James Potter had had the best Christmas of his life that he could remember. Not only had a relative of his father's come and rescued him from Privet Drive and the Dursleys but also he'd found out he was a wizard and could do magic! And it wasn't a dream because in his dreams everything would have gone perfectly and there wouldn't have existed an evil wizard who'd killed his parents or an old wizard who'd attacked him and Caelum. And he'd already slept and woken up with everything being real – even the talking snake and house elf named Kreacher.

Now, he had eaten his breakfast that Caelum had cooked – Harry apparently wouldn't have to cook anymore, figure that – and had been left alone because Caelum had to go and have breakfast with some important people (that he didn't like).

_Caelum__'__s a weird name_, Harry mused as he turned the page on the book _A Guide To Wizarding World_. It was currently talking about the differences between a pureblood, half-blood, muggleborn, squib and muggle. He read the chapter slowly and concluded he apparently was a half-blood because he had muggle grandparents through his mother.

His mother. He wondered if Caelum could show him a picture of her. Harry hoped she did not look like Aunt Petunia. That long horsey-like neck hopefully wasn't a family trait...

Turning the page on the book again, he let his mind wonder about Caelum. The wizard had first said he was a relative of his father's but then told him that other people thought he was the half-brother of his father's best friend Sirius whose room Harry was using and who was in prison though he was innocent. _And_ he was Harry's godfather. It was all very complicated but apparently some wizards could _read minds _in the wizarding world and Caelum had secrets that he would tell Harry once the man knew Harry could protect those secrets.

Crunching his forehead in thought, the boy remembered Caelum promising to teach and train him. At least until he went to that school, Hogwarts. He grinned at the thought of the place being guarded by warty hogs and had got its name from those. But Caelum would probably teach him magic and Harry was eager to learn about that. He hadn't been able to believe it when he'd held the wand and changed the cup. He, Harry Potter, was a wizard and famous! But he supposed he might have been happier as just a normal wizard. Wizardry was pretty special in itself.

Harry noticed the snake, Syl, slithering on the table and followed him with his eyes. The snake stopped just before the book and lifted his head off the table to take a better look at the boy before him. "_Caelum hasss gone and you are now alone?_"

If he concentrated Harry could actually hear the hisses as well but he could barely wrap his head around the fact that he was speaking to a snake as if that was nothing special. Though, it was supposed to be a rare talent, and also Dark.

"_Yesss_," Harry answered, nodding. "_But Citala and Kreacher are here asss well._" He glanced at the hawk sleeping in her nest on top of the ice box but Kreacher was not in the kitchen at the moment.

"_Ssstupid wizard. To go to an enemy lair without me. My ssscalesss will dim..._"

Harry realized with a start that the snake was probably talking to himself. _Huh, I guess even snakes do that_, he thought and went back to his book once he was sure Syl had nothing else to say to him. The snake had actually wound himself around his own body and had his eyes closed.

The boy read until the clock struck eleven. He looked up and thought about his room where the bed had not been made. Caelum _probably _wouldn't mind but... Better safe than sorry.

He climbed the stairs to ground floor and then up to the fourth floor – or topmost landing – in the main staircase. Caelum was right, this place felt really dark and Harry shuddered. He was happy that magic was real and he could practice it but it might have been better without the bad things. _Not candies and sunflowers Caelum said_, Harry remembered as he finally arrived to the door of his own room. One peek inside let him know someone, probably Kreacher, had already made his bed. But now that he'd climbed all the way up he might as well use the loo.

Leaving his book on his bed the boy turned to return the first floor but never got that far, as a voice interrupted him from the second floor. He paused for a second remembering the warning he'd got about Dark places that had not been cleaned in ages but someone was clearly calling for Caelum. Shouldn't he, at least, let them know the wizard was not home?

Momentarily forgetting the healthy amount of self-preservation instincts that the Dursleys' 'care' had honed so finely for him, Harry carefully walked into the dark stopped before a door with a serpent knob and turned it slowly pushing the door open at the same time. The only light in the room came through the dusty window but even in the faint light Harry could make out the interior. He carefully padded into the room and whirled around when someone sighed in exasperation on his left.

"Finally! Do you have any idea how long I was waiting?"

It was a portrait of a man with black hair, moustache and goatee. His eyes were piercingly black and he looked very strict in the green robes he was wearing. Harry was starting to get the idea that coming here had been a big, BIG mistake.

"So, tell me, young brat, what's this I hear about a new mudblood Black Head?"

The boy did not want to answer and was saved from it when a smooth but cold voice spoke from behind him, "Perhaps you will consider not insulting this young man and myself even before you become aware of our power. Your great-granddaughter Walburga did not learn that even the hard way. I'm afraid she's nothing but ashes now."

oooOOOooo

Caelum was definitely not going to leave Harry alone in an unsupervised environment any time soon. How could he have forgotten that the boy was in fact he himself, and for him didn't the Fates _not_ always make everything the most complicated they could possibly? _Of course_ Harry would get into trouble, as Trouble might as well have been his second name! He cursed himself on the inside for his thoughtlessness but outside kept his attention on Phineas Nigellus.

"Get downstairs and don't move until I get there. Understand?"

The boy nodded and left the room as quickly as he could. The door slammed shut behind him but Caelum took his attention off the portrait. A couple wandless and silent spells later he had made sure Phineas would not be leaving his frame for some time. He swiped the sweat off his forehead and took a deep breath. Countering Hogwarts magic always left him winded.

"So you are the new Black Head?" Phineas sounded extremely condescending and Caelum hid his grimace. This would be so much easier with the Emerald but he couldn't risk revealing even that secret to the old Headmaster. But he could hardly do this wandlessly.

"Well, at least you're a powerful mudblood," Phineas acquiesced as a swish of Caelum's hand had the room arranging itself and sending dust tornadoes out of the suddenly open and clean windows. There was a calculative and pensive look in the old wizard's face that soon turned to shock as Caelum summoned the Elder Wand from the non-space and turned it on the portrait. "Where did you get that? What are- What did you do?"

Phineas had discovered his inability to move outside the frame.

"_Recifio portrait_," Caelum intoned, sending his power through the wand that responded gladly to the call of its Master even after all the time that had passed since the last time he'd touched it. Power built up and was released in a beautiful cream coloured spell that hit the portrait straight on, illuminating every corner of the painting and making Phineas Nigellus yell in surprise.

Caelum ended the spell only after a couple of seconds, letting the excess magic bleed over into the walls and the house itself. The Elder Wand hummed in his hand, content to be used again, and he actually felt sad to be sending it away. While Phineas was still in a dazed state Caelum cancelled the restriction spells on his portrait and settled down, leaning against an oak chest while he waited.

"Hello, great-great-grandfather."

The black, sharp eyes of Phineas focused on him and widened in surprise. "Where did you come from, boy? Are you the _supposed _new mudblood Head of my Noble family?"

Reficio. To restore, renew, reconstruct. To simplify, the spell turned back time on the object it hit. Unlike Reparo that merely fixed objects and could sometimes fail, Reficio was harder to cast but never failed. Thus when a magical portrait was hit, the spell did not only correct the damage but erased the memory of the "living" occupants of the painting as they completely relied on magic for their existence. Hermione had discovered it after Voldemort had had some of the Grimmauld Place's paintings' occupants spy on the Order. It had resulted in Emmeline Vance's death and taught people to take more heed of their surroundings.

"I am Caelum Orion Black, Orion Arcturus Black's bastard son. And the current Head of the House of Black by magic and, to some extent, blood." He smirked. "That line is getting a bit repetitive already."

Phineas narrowed his eyes and glared at him. "You are aware of your duties and responsibilities? Of the different estates, of Black family magic? I will not allow some bastard to ruin this family." The old Headmaster was talking with extreme distaste in his voice, practically spitting the words out, and Caelum had no reason to fake the contempt with which he matched the sneer sent his way.

"Yes, the goblins were quite efficient and I even made friends with the prince of their nation," Caelum replied with the same expression but with a falsely happy note in his voice that he knew would grate on Phineas' nerves. The older wizard developed a tick in his brow and scowled darkly.

"No worries, great-great-grandfather." He grew serious again. "In time I will involve myself with Hogwarts' Board of Governors and the Wizengamot, but the time for that is not just yet. The name Black will regain its previous glory and I will reinstate the family's honour as a Dark family." The mage let a small smile show. It didn't reach his eyes. "I don't care what people think because their opinions don't matter. I've gone through too much shite in my short life to waste any more time on things that don't benefit me." He raised his brows. "You can give that message to Dumbledore."

Out of nowhere Phineas started to cackle gleefully. Caelum stared at the portrait of his distant relative in bemusement before cracking a smile too.

"We'll get along just fine," the older wizard announced and walked out of his portrait.

The mage checked the room for any leftover magic and then left to deal with his young charge.

Harry was in the kitchen, sitting at the table and looking positively dejected. He glanced up when Caelum came through the door but turned his head down and seemed to shrink into himself. The mage hid a sigh.

"I'm not mad," he said. "I'm disappointed."

If possible Harry shrunk even more into himself. Caelum saw that Citala was still sleeping but Syl was trying to hide himself behind the sugar bowl. He fixed the snake down with his gaze. "_I left you to make sssure nothing like thisss happened. Isss thisss how you ssshow your worthinessss?_"

"_Do not blame me if the human child isss ssstupid enough to go wandering around when he hasss been warned._" But even from the tone Caelum could hear that Syl knew he too was to blame. The wizard sighed and leaned against the now closed door. This was his fault. He was too used to people doing what he told them without questions or rebelling. Not to mention he had had no experience with kids since he himself was one. And Harry was very different in this world, not only in magic and soul but in spirit as well. What would any good parent do in this situation? He snorted inwardly - as if he had any idea. He was definitely not following the Weasley example.

"I won't punish you this time but there are some consequences. First of all, we cannot stay here."

At hearing this Harry's head shot up and revealed his upset face and the surprise that Caelum's sudden announcement had caused. The boy opened his mouth but Caelum held his hand up, stalling the protests and questions.

"Phineas can come here anytime and also travel through all the portraits in the house. Even if you did not go anywhere near the second floor there'd still be a chance of him discovering you and informing Albus Dumbledore, the man that attacked us at Privet Drive. So, we have to leave." He let that sink in for the moment before continuing, "I can't destroy the portrait without alerting Dumbledore, not to mention possibly turning Hogwarts against us. It's my fault as much as yours since I didn't take that into account before bringing you here but what's done is done. I had no definite plans for the future but I suppose this changes that. We are going to Australia."

"Australia?"

"_Aussstralia?_"

"Master is leaving already?"

Citala trilled questioningly as she was awaken from her beauty sleep.

Caelum chuckled.

"Yes, Australia. My Mind Arts Master should live there and he can train you while I figure out what our next move will be. If he isn't, then at least we can disappear into the muggle world while I train you personally - no matter how hard that might be in the Occlumency department. If we stay in England there's always the danger that someone comes to see me and sees you or that someone spots us on the street, because I definitely am not going to shut you in your room. It's now the 26th but I have to be back on the 2nd for a hearing in the Ministry. We'll figure something out by then in case my Master isn't… available."

"Will I be able to learn the Mind Arts in a week?" Harry asked, visibly nervous. Caelum couldn't help but laugh and the boy blushed and looked down, mortified.

Caelum stopped as soon as he realized the discomfort he was causing. "No, you won't be. Not even with him teaching. It will take months and he will work you hard - if he even agrees to take you as his student." Harry deflated at the thought and Caelum moved to ruffle his black curls. Again the boy tensed at his sudden touch but Caelum tried not to be discouraged. "Don't worry. When you learn to protect your thoughts I can tell you all my secrets. And I'd love be the one to train you - and I will, just in other magics - it's just that my Occlumency is very different and I hadn't realized that earlier."

Harry's expression brightened at that.

"Master leaves for Australia now?" Kreacher questioned, his forehead crunched in thought.

"Yes." Caelum thought for a minute. "I need you to stay here and watch the house. It would be an enormous help if you could clean the house as I'm going to purify this place of all the foul energy that's gathered here as soon as I have enough time. By the way, does the Black Manor or La Tanière d'Ombre have house elves that could come here to stay with you?"

Kreacher turned pensive. "Kreature will check. Master too needs to check those properties as soon as possible." There was a slight reprimand in the elf's voice. Caelum closed his eyes at the reminder and tried to collect his thoughts. Shit. This wasn't working.

Conjuring a pen and some paper he sat down and set out to list his immediate concerns. Harry had no other clothes, and the boy needed to see a Healer. Ollivander was still working on his wand, he had no idea if his old Master was even alive and then the properties. Leaving now was not a good idea but he'd trust no one but his old Master to teach the kid, and his following months would be busy if he truly intended to involve himself in British wizarding world's politics. Then there were the Horcruxes and his relatives...

A swish of his arm produced a shoulder bag and he tapped it, installing the Bottomless Charm effortlessly. Throwing it to Harry, he ordered, "Pack your belongings. We'll get you more clothes on the way." When Harry just stared at him, Caelum became awfully aware of his attitude and sighed in slight irritation. "Harry, Phineas can come back at any time and talk with the other portraits. Though not many have seen you - and I haven't even spoken with any of them - he might find out about you and inform Albus. It's not like we could have gone together into the wizarding world anyway. No one can know I have you with me and it's to protect you as much as give you a place where you can attain some semblance of normal life."

"But I thought the... old man can't take me away from you?"

"No, officially he can't. But he can use his great influence to turn the general population against me. He can undermine my right to have you if he finds out my secrets. I can't give him that much power over me. My secrets... I wish I could share them with you already but I am beginning to think it is better for my Master to train you in Occlumency since mine is so much more profound and uniquely suited for myself. Should Albus stumble upon an opportunity to test both mine and your shields he could find similarities and start to suspect something." He gave Harry a soft smile. "I'm sorry your Christmas got turned around. It might have been easier for you to remain with the Dursleys but I couldn't leave you with them."

Harry was silent and pursed his lips together. "I... I don't want to go back. I... It's the best Christmas of my life! And you don't lie to me or tell me I'm a freak and... And..." The boy blushed.

Caelum stood up and walked over to again ruffle Harry's hair. He smiled down at him. "I wish I could give you a normal life but that's impossible with us being who we are. Now, go pack. I want to be in Sydney in a couple of hours."

Harry was ready to go in ten minutes but it took Caelum more than an hour to write all the letters he needed to and put up the wards to deny access from everyone but the people already in the house. He was slightly apprehensive about creating a portkey to get them to Sydney since the Ministry would probably already be on his case about the earlier arrival but no one could detect the portkeys he created, especially from within these wards, and they'd only be accusations without proof. And he had no intention of even registering himself or Harry in Australia's Ministry of Magic.

Kreacher received many directives on how to handle possible visitors and missives. The elf was too old to make the jump to Australia but could and would take a look at Caelum's properties in Britain and France. And as long as Caelum found time to pop in to collect his mail, there would be no reason for anyone to suspect he wasn't still in the country. Phineas was the only one to present a problem and Caelum knew removing a portrait connected to Hogwarts would at least alert Albus to his power levels - something he wanted to avoid.

The problems Phineas' presence created should have been realised by him earlier.

Malfoy, his relatives and the Ministry, he'd handle in the beginning of the year. Ollivander too. The close brush with Phineas had alerted him to the fact that if he wanted to offer any kinds of choices for Harry, he'd have to get out from under Albus' circle of influence. And it all started with giving Harry the privacy of his own mind.

Finishing the letter to the Malfoys thanking them for the breakfast and then setting it aside on top of the pile he'd already written, he turned to Citala who was regarding him silently. She trilled questioningly.

"Yes, girl. I'm sorry but I can't take you to Australia with me. You are needed here to deliver the letters and I'm pretty sure you'll hate magical transportation so I can't keep popping you in and out of the country."

She screeched haughtily and looked at him along her beak. He chuckled softly and rose to scratch her head. She melted at his touch and trilled her acquiescence through their connection Caelum was quite certain she was not happy to let her wizard leave without her. She might not have been able to talk to him like Syl was but was just as expressive nonetheless.

"Good," Caelum sighed as soon as he had sent Harry's bag to the non-place. Syl was already wrapped around his throat and he already had everything he'd need in the non-place. He took one last look around the kitchen and tweaked around the wards he'd put up, finding them strong and unaffected by the dark energy in the house. Summoning a spoon, he tapped it with his finger and offered it to Harry. The boy took a hold of it and three seconds later they were whisked away from the house and Britain.

oooOOOooo

He absolutely hated his Master for choosing this kind of environment to live in. Nevertheless, it was comforting to know that his Mind Arts Master was living and practicing his art even in this world though finding him had proven to be such a tedious task. But at least nothing seemed to bring Harry down from his happy mood where he'd ascended at his first glimpse of Australia.

They had portkeyed to the Sydney magical district - conveniently skipping past the wards meant to direct them to the Portkey Terminal in Australian Ministry of Magic - that was not so different from the one in Caelum's memories. Though Harry would have wanted them to stay in one of the inns found on the local "Alley" Caelum was of another mind and had them booked into the Haven Inn Sydney after stopping to change some of his British pounds to the local currency, the Australian dollar. After seeing the place Harry had no objections and he had trailed after Caelum with honest wonder shining in his eyes. It was especially wonderfully since it was currently summer in the southern hemisphere and Harry's eyes widened at the sight of the outdoor pool with clear water shining with blue light in the warn darkness of the evening. Even if the boy said nothing of his wishes, Caelum made a quick mental decision to postpone their search for his old Master in order to introduce Harry to some of the joys of life.

He transfigured some of the hotel's towels into appropriate clothing and put Harry under a sleep spell to force their internal clocks to the local time and then fell on his own bed to spend the night in meditation. If he was going to see his Master he was not going to go with half-assed and exhausted shields that the medicine man could pierce with his telepathy but he was going to protect his secrets.

Come morning, he let Harry loose into the pool. The boy actually acted his age and Caelum looked on from the side, not risking the make-up's reaction with chlorine, and spent some time going through the papers from his Black inheritance. He needed to be ready for the Ministry inquiry on the 2nd. But his first priority was getting Harry to a Healer, he decided as he spied the outline of ribs on the kid's torso. He himself was specialised in battlefield first aid and had no idea what kind of potions to administer and at what dosage even if he was a Potions Master – only short of a certificate.

So that afternoon – after a delightful lunch consisting of a lot of healthy foods – he took them back to the local Alley, found out directions from an apothecary and Apparated them to a private Healer clinic specializing in children health care. He had to get a bit creative with the question form and the assistant's memories. Harry looked wide-eyed at his blatant disregard of rules.

"Well, it says here you adopted him a few days back. Blood-adoption?"

Healer Walker was a young woman with beautiful black curls and tanned skin. Caelum was pretty sure she had checked him out the moment she laid eyes on him and did not known how he felt about it. He especially didn't know what to think about the fact that he had noticed at all. Last year all attempts to gain his interest hadn't even registered but in this world he supposed he was healing and that included recognizing social relations for what they were. Not that he was interested.

"No, though the adoption papers were signed in blood." She just nodded and scribbled something down. Caelum just had to love Australia's neutral stance in everything magical.

"Okay, I'm going to do a scan that'll show me your entire medical history and we'll see how you're doing." She smiled warmly at Harry who responded shyly. As her maple wand made an appearance Caelum made to grip her wrist.

"Just… There are going to be some magical anomalies in that scan. Ignore them and just concentrate on the non-magical aspects."

The Healer raised her eyebrows but nodded and Caelum released her. She was all professionalism as she turned to Harry sitting on the leather bed and started waving her wand in wide arcs. Harry was surrounded by a bright white light that a flick of the Healer's wand sent flying towards a parchment where writing started to appear immediately. It took the spell nearly thirty seconds to list everything and Caelum felt his expression darken with each second that ticked by.

He scowled as the Healer looked up only after a second. "No, this can't be right." She raised her wand.

"Yes, he is Harry Potter and yes, he was hit with the Killing Curse at the age of fifteen months. We'd appreciate it if you didn't raise a racket."

Unsurprisingly, the woman simply nodded and lowered her wand though she shot Caelum a look – probably because of the fake names he'd written down. "There was some fuzz about a kid surviving that curse about a decade ago. I remember for the next year or so each medical journal addressed the incident somehow and the most common conclusion was that the Dark Lord somehow botched the curse."

Caelum wanted to roll his eyes at the implication Voldemort failed at something magical. If nothing else the man was a genius when it came to magic. At least before he went and broke his mind along with his soul.

"Did he receive any medical care after the incident?"

"Not that I know of." Caelum raised a questioning eyebrow at Harry who was quick to shake his head.

"I hardly remember that night," the boy reminded him and the Healer gasped while Caelum simply accepted that with a nod. Occlumency would change that but Harry probably wouldn't thank him for the pain the memories would bring along with them.

"Well, I'd love to have a look at…" She let the sentence trail of at the glare Caelum gave her. She shrugged and returned to the parchment. "Well, no mind, I think we're going to have to put you on some nutrient potions to get the levels back to normal and also on a heavier diet …What the hell!" The last came out as a near screech and she immediately shot an apologising look at Harry but Caelum was too busy hiding Syl as he'd been surprised by the sudden loud noise and instinctively tightened around the mage's throat, making it very hard for the said mage to breathe.

"Whathhhss?" he coughed out, the end coming out as a reprimanding hiss. Syl hissed softly his apologies and returned to his dozing.

"Umh… Well, his magical levels are extremely low. I mean for someone his age. Only about 30 percent of his overall capacity remains. You haven't had him do any magic?" Now the Healer sounded accusing and tried to seem imposing. Caelum, who'd stood up against the Dark Lords and demigods raised an amused eyebrow deciding not to take offence.

"No. I'm aware of the situation. We are already dealing with it. Now, the potions?"

"Well, he is quite small for his age but the scan shows that he should be of average height. I really don't think that at this point in time he should be put on Skele-Grow as it might have some unknown effects. But if he wants to after puberty, it's his choice."

"I could be tall?" Harry interrupted, clearly excited about the idea. The Healer was quick to disperse his dream.

"Of average height, Mr Potter. As long as we combine the scan estimation with the magic of the bone growing potion we can counter the effects of your earlier… circumstances. However, going over the estimation would not only put your body but your life in danger as well. Now, when's the last time you saw an Optician?"

Harry thought for a minute. "When I started school. They sent me to the nurse when I couldn't see the board."

"Well, from what I see it would benefit you greatly to go and get your eyes fixed. May I recommend a friend of mine?"

Caelum sighed but accepted the parchment with the name and address anyway. He knew the blood adoption Sirius had performed had changed his looks so it was unlikely for anyone to recognize him and Harry as one and the same, especially with the age difference, but removing Harry's glasses...

Was Harry's own decision.

"Can I get the recipes for the nutrient potions? As a Potions Master myself I'm hardly going to let anyone else do the brewing," he explained as the Healer shot him a surprised look. Some hustling and going through papers produced two different recipes of potions that Harry would be taking. A series of Memory spells and memory modifications later the two wizards were out of the clinic its occupants and workers none the wiser.

Three days later found them driving down a little-used path North-West of Alice Springs. It was Saturday morning and they were practically in the middle of nowhere as the clues they'd got from the wizarding citizens in the village on the way were very little to go with. Caelum would have given up if not for the image of his Master he'd picked up on with Legilimency. And he'd sensed no lie when the woman had told him his Master had lived in this area a couple of years back.

Glancing sideways to his left, the older wizard had to smile at the expression on Harry's face. This was the first time the boy was on a trip of any kind and especially now without his glasses Harry could truly appreciate their surroundings. Especially when Caelum was making sure the sun wasn't affecting them too much in the Holden Apollo he'd bought yesterday.

The reason they weren't utilising the wondrous aspects of magical travel in their search was Harry. Or more specifically Harry's newly adjusted eyes that were very sensitive to any use of magic for the next week. This had resulted in them driving most of Friday and Saturday to get to Alice Springs and early this morning taking the Tanami Road until Caelum decided they should head more towards North.

He stopped the car and climbed out, Harry following his example. If his Master was anywhere near them he could find them by following the vibration of the boy's mind but it would most likely take some convincing for the man to accept another student. Caelum had been one of the three in the last hundred years.

"Are you sure this man will train me?" Harry asked nervously out of nowhere.

Caelum could only shrug. In the end it was his Master's choice and he'd had little sway with the man even when he had known him personally. But he knew his Master would be unable to say no, especially if he took a look at Harry's memories. The medicine man believed strongly in privacy and Harry needed to have that.

"How long are we going to wait?" Now the boy sounded careful. But Caelum supposed being ordered around for a decade and then when finally given freedom of choice anyone would be cautious when asking for things.

"Ah, not for long. Actually I believe your wait has ended."

The boy jumped in surprise and whirled around to find nothing but air where the voice had sounded from. Caelum chuckled at his antics beneath his breath, while tightening the shields around his mind and magic as he felt the tentative touch against them. It disappeared and he resisted following it to the source.

"Caelum Black of England. Have I taught you before?" the voice sounded again and Harry shuffled closer to Caelum his eyes wildly glancing around.

"Enough with your antics, Master. Can you not see Harry is alarmed by them?"

Immediately a middle aged man appeared right before them. Leaves and small sticks were stuck in his long brown hair and he was wearing clothes in different shades of brown that nearly blended into his skin darkened by prolonged exposure to sun. His face had deep lines around the eyes that sparkled in all the colours of the sunset.

"Harry here tells me he will be taught by me yet I remember not owing any favours or even meeting anyone related to you. So why would you give him that idea?"

Caelum stepped forward, effectively shielding Harry with his body and consequently wrapping him in his shields as well. "Perhaps my secrets are worth the training of a young man desperately in need of guidance. You do hoard knowledge, after all."

"Knowledge that doesn't pass my lips. But yes, you are familiar with me." The colour of his eyes shifted to molten lava. "How curious."

His eyes left Caelum's and turned to regard Harry, and Caelum stepped out of the way. Those weird eyes weighed and analyzed and searched deep into the boy's soul while Harry stood paralyzed by the weight of the memories. Caelum should know. He'd experienced it himself, and it was not a happy feeling. Harry shuddered under the blazing glare of the sun.

Finally the man turned to look back at Caelum, leaving Harry gasping for breath. "You bring me a child of Destiny, touched and infected by the worst imaginable evil. You expect a miracle."

Caelum tensed at those words. _Infected? Surely not..._

"I will teach," his Master replied, interrupting his strain of thought. The man looked up to the sky and the colour of his eyes shifted again. "Time's a wasting. Come, there is much to discuss."

He suddenly grinned and his eyes sparkled with excitement. "I will drive."

Caelum huffed in exasperation. But at least Harry was in good hands even if he wasn't safe.

If what he suspected was correct... Magic help him.

* * *

A/N: And another chapter. I don't know if this is actually good or bad news but I've apparently broken my ankle - which is undoubtedly bad for me - and have a couple days off from school. Since most of the next chapter is already written... It should come out within a week.

And I've already published 2 chapters of Many A Mind And Blood which is HP/DM with a creature twist. If you have time, take a look.

Remember to review, review, review...


	12. Up the Game

I'm back after a (way) too long break. But school has been horrible and I've been dividing my time among other interests as well. Also, I wrote this chapter, didn't like it and wrote it again, lost it and wrote it for the third time. So it's been a bit difficult to get this one out. But it is what it is now, and **aalens **has already beta'd it.

What else... Reviews have been absolutely amazing, as always.

**farwalker: **yes, Master is the medicine man I mentioned in the previous chapter

**Rhionae: **Thank you for noticing the mistake with the distance. I was mixing kilometres with miles and I've changed the schedule a bit now.

This chapter also has some little plans considering the horcruxes and the next one especially concentrates on those.

Now, let's get on with the story.

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry and no money is made with this.

* * *

OF SHADOW, SHINE AND SHADES by dra6on

Chapter 11. Up the Game

His Master had known how to drive in his original universe. In fact, he had been a magnificent driver.

Apparently that was a skill the man was to pick up in the next ten years because at the moment Caelum had to cast a levitation spell anchored to Harry and his seats to keep them from banging against the ceiling, windows and other seats as the Mind Arts Master went a _little _crazy with the gears. Caelum silently apologised to their car for the rough handling it was getting and thanked his luck when the ride lasted only ten minutes. Harry's legs wobbled beneath him as he shot out of the vehicle after it came to a sudden halt. Caelum followed at a more dignified pace and carefully blanked his face.

Before them stood a shabby house on the shore of a lake. He vaguely recognized the place from some of the talks he and his Master had shared but had never been here before. This was supposed to be the man's sanctuary, the place where no one else was welcomed.

Might be another difference between the universes.

"In, in. How's your conjured tea?"

"Mediocre," Caelum answer while making sure Harry was alright. He was clearly nervous and distrustful of the man but apparently trusted Caelum enough to go along with this at the moment. Then again when Caelum left him alone with the eccentric teacher... Better not think about that yet.

They followed the man inside the house. It was clear that expansion charms were in use as the outward appearance had definitely not prepared them to step into a luxurious suite complete with the latest muggle technology. Caelum huffed under his breath at the word "latest" his mind had supplied. More like ancient. Additionally a fourth of the room seemed to be dedicated to the man's practice. There were books piled on the floor, potions workstation and Caelum recognized some of the concentration enhancers he'd used.

When he'd stayed in a cave.

And ran under the blazing sun.

Without even a wish for luxuries.

...

"Alright, what's the delay? Tea, tea."

Turning to the table standing comfortably in the kitchen area, Caelum called for his holly wand and with a swish produced a beautiful china tea set for three. The wand was returned to the non-space before Caelum took a seat, Harry nervously following his example. Their host busied himself with pouring their tea.

"Now, as I understand it, you're both carrying some serious darkness within you. _You_ especially." He pointed at Caelum. "Where or _when_ever I've taught you, for me to reveal that technique you must have been in a pretty serious situation. Not to mention dangerous. And it's affecting you even to this day because those shields hide even existence. Kind of like the Untouchables."

He tasted his tea and grimaced. "The boy again needs to start with the basics. And those start with isolating the dark entity attached to his soul from his psyche and magic. At the moment it's muddling his senses and I won't have it."

"I have a what?" Harry asked, his tea sitting before him untouched. Caelum felt uneasy with this approach. He was so young... Should he be told or not? And taking this approach would lead to him making the same mistakes Dumbledore had done with him... It was Harry's life and he had the right to make his own decisions and to know his own destiny. And his Master spoke as if confining the horcrux was somehow possible.

But what would be the effect on Harry if the boy found out about carrying a soul particle from the murderer of his parents? Especially now without the support of an occluded and organized mind? He'd seen older men go insane with the darkness of Voldemort and he would, _could_ not risk his younger counterpart.

Caelum made his decision.

"There were some traces of darkness that attached to you that night your parents were murdered," Caelum explained in a roundabout way and the Master shot him a brief glance at the white lie. "You were hit with the Killing Curse and no one has survived it before. It is a Dark curse and I should have expected it to have some effect but..."

Harry had blanched at the explanation and shook his head so that black locks went flying around. "I... what has it done to me?"

"It can be suppressed so it doesn't affect you in any way," the Mind Arts Master replied solemnly. "It has not directed your thoughts but simply made it harder for you to express yourself and access your magic. If you allow me, I will create a prison for it until it can be removed." The man's eyes flickered to Caelum at that but the mage kept his gaze on Harry. He did not know how to extract it without killing Harry.

He didn't know...

The hole in his chest opened again, the feeling of letting down so many people, but he ignored it and kept his attention on Harry. He rose and stepping to the boy's side he gathered the unresisting form in his arms. He rubbed circles on the boy's back until Harry wrapped his arms tentatively around Caelum's neck and buried his face in the mage's shirt. The mage sat back down, Harry still in his arms and looked at the Mind Arts Master, fully acknowledging his responsibility for the lie. The man gave a tiny nod and Caelum felt the presence wash over him as the old man began his work.

It lasted hours and all the while Caelum held Harry who didn't move even though he must have felt the foreign presence invading his mind. Caelum was both amazed at the work his Master was performing and a little worried that he wasn't sensing it as well as he should have. He had passed most Mind Arts Masters in their profession but last year had been horrible for him in every aspect.

"Done."

The mage looked up to see the brown haired man slouched in his chair wiping sweat from his forehead. He raised an inquiring brow and lowered his shields for the silent answer his Master sent to his mind, "_The Dark One was a Master as well. It is no easy work forcing a fighting soul piece into a prison when it has earlier had relatively free rein."_

The mage nodded and turned to Harry. The boy's eyes were closed and would have seemed to be asleep if not for the unnatural stillness of his body and the short breaths hissing through his pursed lips.

"Harry, how're you feeling?"

They waited patiently for the answer and were rewarded after a few tense moments. The ten year old nodded against Caelum's shirt and the arms loosened their tight hold.

"It feels... different, I guess. I..." He paused to gather his thoughts. "I know that... Master is where he is without looking. But you're still not there. I mean, I'm not feeling you. Why's that?"

Letting the boy down from his lap Caelum ruffled his hair affectionately and smiled. "I have shields that keep me and my magic hidden. I only lower them when using magic and even then only slightly. It's because," he continued anticipating the next question, "I need to keep myself and my magic under control and I couldn't do that the normal way."

His Master nodded though the hunger for new knowledge never left his eyes. Caelum sighed inwardly at the signs of a future interrogation but knew Harry needed to be the first one to know. If he promised to tell them at the same time it could serve as an incentive for the Mind Arts Master to teach Harry to the best of his ability. He pushed these thoughts through his shields and immediately felt the attention of his Master caught. The man grimaced but nodded all the same.

Harry had stayed oblivious to their exchange and was looking around the room as if it was the first time he'd seen it. His green eyes were sparkling with interest and for a moment Caelum was glad he'd decided against revealing the truth. Harry deserved to have a few happy moments. And he would have to research the extraction of horcruxes so that he could deliver some good news when the time to confess finally was upon them.

"Ah, better get started," the now golden eyed man proclaimed and got up, turning to the boy. "We begin with... concentration."

The rest of Sunday and the beginning of the week passed with both Caelum and Harry taking part in the lessons, Caelum mostly reinforcing his shields and keeping an eye on his Master. Syl, who had been silently enjoying the heat of the desert, had finally showed his head and their teacher had been intrigued with their ability far beyond what Caelum was comfortable with. The older wizard could feel those eyes weighing and comparing his two guests and Caelum knew some of the similarities were glaringly obvious – even if he kept his tattoos and true eye colour hidden and the blood adoption to the Black family had changed his features slightly.

But Thursday marked another change in their weird existence. Today Caelum would be leaving Harry alone for the first time since the Nigellus incident, as he had come to refer it within the confines of his mind. And for the first time with someone he didn't entirely trust. But he had to go the Ministry and Harry needed to keep learning. The mage suspected the Master would deal with the harsher side of the boy's training while he was absent.

Caelum left the talk with Harry to Thursday morning, knowing he had more than enough time with the time difference to be at midday in England none the wiser about his little trip to Australia.

So, before his Master could steal Harry for another day spent in meditation he drew the boy aside and sat him on the table.

"I need to go back to England for a bit," Caelum started and Harry's attention was immediately entirely his. "Just for today to visit the Ministry and get my mail. I'll leave Syl here, as it is doubtful I can steal him away from the sunny spot." He glared at the reptile lazily twined around his own body on the window still where sun was directly shining.

"You're coming back today?"

Even though the general question was asked in a nonchalant way the undertone of the question was that of uncertainty and Caelum hid his smile at the attempted show of bravery. He reached out to ruffle Harry's hair and for the first time the boy actually leaned into his touch. Like a dog craving to be scratched.

Now that simile was wrong on so many levels.

"I'll be back sooner than you think. I think Master is going to work you hard today but try to bear it, okay? You can soon enter your mindscape and then begins the building of shields and melding your mind and magic together. When that's done, we'll have a nice and long talk."

Harry nodded, returning to his studies and Caelum, after taking one look around, whirled on the spot and Disapparated soundlessly.

At his immediate arrival at Grimmauld Kreacher popped next to him carrying a huge pile of envelopes and as soon as Caelum had relieved the ancient elf of his burden a white bolt of a hawk shot to his shoulder where sharp claws dug into his skin.

"Aah! I suppose you missed me?" the mage queried from Citala and she screeched her dissatisfaction. Hiding his winces at the pain the mage made his way to kitchen where the old clock informed him it was only half past midnight and he had- what was the word he'd heard Americans use? Half a... nychthemeron? – or something like that – before the Auror would make an appearance.

Taking a seat and getting a cup of tea before him he began the tedious task of going through the letters; Malfoy, Arcturus, Cassiopeia, Minister, some unknown, some Dark family...he sneered at the letters and pinned short but courteous answers. The last one was from Ollivander, informing him that his wand was finally ready and he could come and pick it up during open hours.

"Kreacher," the mage called and only a second passed before the ancient elf house popped next to him.

"Yes, Master?"

"I will be visiting Ollivander at ten in the morning and possibly the goblins of Gringotts as well. An Auror is to be escorting me to the Ministry today and he should arrive around midday. If I for some reason have not returned by that time, please treat the guest with respect even if he is a muggleborn. I cannot have you affecting the general opinion I am attempting to form."

"Kreature will do his best." The elf bowed and disappeared without further instruction. Caelum returned his attention to the letters from his relatives. Cassiopeia was almost openly threatening him and Malfoy... he couldn't understand the man's motives. There was a trace of well hidden respect but he knew with men like Malfoy one had to stay on one's toes at all times. And he couldn't forget the torture the man had put him under in his own universe. It was a miracle he hadn't killed the blond already but one wrong move and he might just snap, his instincts taking over. And he had to lay low.

At least until Harry was in Hogwarts. Eight months. And then his ward would be under Dumbledore's control and Caelum doubted his ability to influence the boy enough in this short time for him to stymie Dumbledore's efforts to gain the boy's trust.

_Though Harry will always remember their first meeting when the old codger threatened his saviour. But is it enough? _

The power to shape Harry into anything was in his hands and he would be tempted again and again. It would be so easy to turn the kid into a perfect soldier who would fit right into Caelum's non-existent plans but he couldn't do it. He wanted Harry to see the truth and make his own decisions. That he hoped the boy would oppose both Dumbledore and Voldemort – well, it was just that. Hope. It might be that Harry would decide to see Dumbledore as the lesser of two evils. Or maybe even come to see the old man as his leader.

It was too early to ponder on these questions. If Caelum managed to destroy the horcruxes there wouldn't even be a war. Harry's horcrux... It was the greatest problem and out of the range of his capability at the moment. But he would hope and he would persevere. And he would make sure also Harry survived.

oooOOOooo

At ten past ten the mage once again stepped into Ollivander's old shop, the bell announcing him. There was no one in sight but his sensitivity had increased from the meditation of the past few days and he could feel the old man in the back room. Only three seconds passed before the shop owner made his appearance.

"Ah, Mister Black. You've come."

_A way to state the obvious_, Caelum sneered but showed none of his emotions on the outside. "I received your letter. May I see the end product?"

The man seemed to bristle at his choice of words and Caelum hid his smirk. Elves and their pride. Ollivander snapped his fingers and a black case appeared in his hands. Slowly, almost reverently, the man pulled out the wand inside it. "Dragon heartstring from a exceedingly vicious Vipertooth I encountered in my youth and maple of an over three hundred years old tree. Twelve and a half inches. May it serve you well."

The mage grasped the proffered handle and felt familiar recognition settle within him. They matched – but then again with Ollivander's expertise it would have been a miracle if they hadn't. He whirled the wand experimentally in his fingers producing green and black sparks and smiled. Perhaps he could now stop using his wandless magic publicly and let his possible enemies forget the power he possessed. So far he had simply showed his ability to move things wandlessly and small illusions. He had not cast any real spells – except for silencing Cassiopeia and that could be interpreted as compulsion through family magic that he was capable of as the Head of the family.

"Thank you. It is a good match." He pulled out twenty galleons. "I hope this covers all of the cost."

"Quite, quite. If you do not mind my curiosity-" _I do_, Caelum thought, "I would welcome any knowledge of the unknown channeler I mentioned earlier. After reading the results from measuring you, it certainly has my interest piqued.

Caelum felt his eyes harden and from the flinch knew the wand maker had noticed as well. "I am afraid I cannot help you. And it would be wise not to spread rumours as something might happen.

"Have a good day, Ollivander."

He left the shop with his new wand in a pocket already sewn in his robes and headed for Gringotts. The bank was bustling with customers and Caelum noticed some kids waiting in line. So the Christmas holidays still weren't over. He passed the people and the tellers and walked right up to one of the guards.

"Will you please tell Gobteeth that Mr Black would like to meet him."

The goblin looked him up and down but Caelum could see the recognition in his eyes. He nodded briskly and abandoned his post after sharing a telling look with the other guard. In the end it only took a mere ten minutes for Caelum to be seated in Gobteeth's office and facing the displeased face of his account manager.

"What is it?"

The mage smiled. "I wanted to inquire about the state of my brother's affairs. Has there been any progress?"

"You only informed me of the situation a little over a week ago and it's been Christmas. Stupid humans and their stupid holidays. What meaning does Christmas have for wizards, I ask." The goblin seemed to be mumbling to himself but Caelum had to agree. There was power in the old holidays – he himself had used the power of Winter Solstice in his spell that ended with him here – and to worship something muggle was very unnatural for pureblooded wizards and yet everyone still celebrated Christmas.

"Alright, I have inquired about the case from the Ministry but received very strong suggestions to leave the case alone. When I mentioned the lack of trial, they actually sent a representative from the Department of Magical Enforcement that told me that the case was closed and in turn attempted to inquire about my client. Your name was of course kept out of the discussion." Caelum nodded his appreciation.

"So far I haven't even managed to confirm the lack of trial which in itself suggests there is something they want to cover up. You might actually be onto something with your paranoid claims." Caelum ignored the jab. "I will continue to look into this but I think it will be extremely difficult to get any results. You could attempt to have a meeting arranged but if they have slightest suspicion about your intentions it is not going to happen. Also without any contacts to the Ministry, it is practically impossible."

"Then it is good that I have a meeting scheduled in the DMLE today." He knew he couldn't bring up the matter today but one had to start somewhere. He did not even know who he would be meeting.

"Also, on the matter of your account, I have invested in the Bolt company as you suggested and liquidated you shares in companies that have not produced any significant profit in the past decade and that are not expected to do so in the future. I thought it necessary in the event of your gamble with the brooms misfiring."

"Such confidence you have in me," Caelum sighed and Gobteeth glared. "Fine, have it your way. If I recall correctly, you get ten percent of all the winnings I make so please, keep up the good work."

Gobteeth bared his teeth and it wasn't a goblin smile but a threat and Caelum's neck prickled. He levelled a serious look on the goblin and the smaller one relented. "You seem to have little interest in the fortune."

"I already have money," Caelum shrugged. "And if I ever need more, well, there are ways to obtain it even without the trouble of maintaining one's fortune. Not that I don't appreciate your efforts. I'm simply more interested in the _objects_ I inherited than in the money."

Gobteeth gave him the already familiar look that questioned his sanity but the mage ignored it. He slid a parchment across the table. "I put up a list of places I'd like to invest in. Please, simply go with it. I have my reasons."

The goblin glared at him.

Caelum smirked and got to his feet before hesitating and slowly lowering his body back into the chair. He pulled out his newly purchased wand and cast a questioning glance at the goblin. "Do you mind if I cast my own privacy wards? It is not to insult you," he hastened to explain when murderous glint entered the black eyes of his account manager. "I trust the goblins to keep their secrets. But... _–I wish to discuss the matter of my blood that occurred last week. –_"

Gobteeth sneered but nodded and Caelum let the wand curve over them in a large arc. A blue mist enveloped them for a few second before vanishing from sight but they could both feel the blanket of silence that was covering them and the mage had to smile at the wand. It worked better than he'd hoped for, even if he'd been ridiculously careful with the amount of power.

"This concerns young Mister Potter?"

He wasn't certain but Caelum almost could detect a hint of genuine curiosity behind the question. Were the goblins thankful about the vanquishing of Voldemort as well here? Was it because he'd earned their trust that he'd been helped so much in the adoption and the fake name? It was only speculation but he wondered if there was a grain of truth in this line of thinking...

"Yes," he answered. "There was an incident involving Phineas Nigellus Black's portrait. I used the Reficio Spell but it is possible he noticed something amiss and reported it to Dumbledore. After my duelling him, he will most certainly find me suspicious as I turned up at the same time Harry disappeared."

"You _duelled_ Albus Dumbledore? Countered _Hogwarts' magic_?" Gobteeth blurted out but quickly scowled at the triumphant look on Caelum's face. "Never mind. You want us to direct his attention elsewhere?" Now the goblin sounded condescending.

"He will certainly check the fake name you created for the adoption and shortly figure out the origin. I understand the issue was handled with absolute secrecy, only yourself and the prince know, correct?"

"And Griphammer, but he is trustworthy." Gobteeth scribbled on a parchment and deposited it in the box on his table. "I will make sure your status isn't compromised. Where is Mister Potter at the moment?"

"Why?" The mage's suspicious nature was immediately acting up at such a blunt question.

"He has an account with us; the money his parents left him. The Potters were quite wealthy in the early 1900s but the wars ate a lot of their wealth as they were involved in both. You are his guardian by the Agreement by Blood and are entitled to receive his statements if you wish so. Though it would be difficult to explain to Gorgek as to why you are entitled to them without going into detail."

"Harry can do whatever he wants with his money once he turns eleven and returns to the public's eye." Caelum sighed. "It is his, and I have no intention of claiming it. Will he inherit any seats?"

"In the Wizengamot, yes, but that is all. The Potters lost their influence with their money and even the manor was destroyed when Annabel and Christopher Potter were attacked and killed. It burned to the ground."

"He's lost a lot of his family inheritance..." Caelum trailed off. Another difference then. He fingered the money pouch on his belt and was not for the first time, grateful for the magnificent inheritance he himself had been left. Money, magical artefacts and a library, and the manor where he'd founded a magical orphanage. Nothing like that awaited Harry in the future.

"There might be something in Godrig's Hollow. Something that will only open to the true Heir of the family," Gobteeth suggested. "It has been raided by many hunters and I'm afraid a lot of unattached things have vanished with time. The Ministry wards on protected property are only so-so." The goblin sneered.

"He's not ready. Maybe later..." Caelum shook his head and stood up, dispelling the privacy ward. "Thank you, Gobteeth. May your gold continue to flow.

"Now I have an Auror to entertain."

It turned out that he beat the escort to the Black London house but only by five minutes. Kreacher did not talk, as he'd been ordered, when the figure in standard black robes arrived through the floo but the mage could see the nervous glances the young Auror kept shooting his surroundings and the silent but glaring elf.

"Mr Black, I'm here to-"

"Escort me to the Ministry. Yes, I am all ready. Shall we take the floo or Apparate?"

The floo it was and Caelum actually had to subject himself to the wand checking procedure, which, thanks to his earlier visit to Ollivander's, was not a problem. The young Auror, who actually was about his age, guided him to the elevators and they took one to level two. Caelum was gratified to notice that not much had changed from his memories, but then again the British Ministry of Magic had never really suffered in the wars. People had fought over the control of the Ministry but even Apophis had left the actual building alone – for the most part.

"The Head Auror is questioning you personally." Probably because of the Dark status of his family. "Please wait here,"

The idiot _actually left him alone_ in the _Head Auror's office._ What the fuck? Caelum looked at the piles of papers on the desk and stifled his first instinct to go through them. There was a cabinet on one wall and it was probably filled with some _pretty _sensible information. What the... Did the world have to be at war for wizards to understand the value of common sense?

The mage would have had plenty of time to go through anything in the office in the time it took for Rufus Scrimgeour to arrive in his office. The Head Auror looked younger but already wore the wire-rimmed glasses Caelum had seen on him in his own universe. But instead of completely yellow eyes his eyes were only yellowish and their gaze attempted to pierce the wizard before him.

The mage bowed his head with respect and ignored the disdainful air around the Head Auror as he took the seat behind the desk without even offering to shake hands. "Mr Black. The Ministry is grateful for your cooperation. The matter is of course that of your illegal entry to our country."

Scrimgeour looked like he would have wanted to accuse him of something much worse. _And all because of the name_, Caelum thought wryly. _Had I appeared before him as a Potter, we would have already been through with this. Come to think of it, he didn't even introduce himself._

"I used muggle transport. Airplane. I believe your Ministry does not monitor those."

"The wards on the country should have picked up on your arrival."

"Oh, really." Caelum smiled charmingly. "I understand that is not my problem in any way. If the country's wards are defective, it is hardly my fault. I understand the Minister has been cutting your budget. Maintaining those wards must take a lot of money if..." The Auror's jaw twitched. If they even existed. Portkey, Apparition, sure, those were understandable but you could not cast a ward that would detect a wizard without that wizard first doing magic. And that was mostly used for detecting underage offenders.

"It must be hard on you to suddenly leave Australia and take up the Head position of the _Black_ family."

Small talk? From Scrimgeour?

"Not really. I've already had enough excitement in my life." Caelum smirked. "Getting involved in politics will be nice for a change."

The Head Auror's expression darkened even more. Apparently the idea of yet another wizard with a Dark background influencing the Wizengamot did not appeal to the Dark wizard hunter. Too bad there was nothing he could do about it.

"If this was all..." He let the sentence trail off.

"Yes, thank you for your cooperation."

It was an obvious dismissal and Caelum resisted the urge to throw something back. He'd never liked Scrimgeour in his old universe, never liked the way the man handled things. In his mind Light had to rule and that was the only way about it. He could not understand the existence of a balance of which Caelum knew he was an example . Light and Dark together, and Dark used – mostly – for protection, not destruction.

The mage hid his personal opinion by bowing his head once again and silently left the office. There was no Auror waiting to escort him away and he welcomed the chance to do some digging around the Ministry. He wanted to take a look at the Ministry Archives but knew it was unlikely without actually breaking in. And it would not be good for his future if by some off chance he got caught in the act.

Quickly reviewing the levels in his head he headed to the elevators once more. The Archives were on level ten, along with the courtrooms, or at least he supposed they were with the building being the same. He _was _the Black Head so naturally he would have a seat in the Wizengamot. When was the next session? He would have to ask. Actually, he might as well look for someone to explain things for him as he couldn't trust his previous knowledge.

Wizengamot Administration Services were located on level two.

He took a look around and sure, right next to the door leading to the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office was a door with a sign that read _Wizengamot Administration Services._ Maybe someone there could actually set him up for any important meetings.

Whereas the Auror Department was filled with desks, divided into different groups based on positions, the Wizengamot Administrations Services only had four desks and one door leading to a separate office. The mage immediately garnered the attention of everyone in the room and as all were women, he could see the immediate effect.

"Hello, sir. How may I help you?"

He smiled charmingly. The witch was about his age, blond and small, but he couldn't help but be amused, as he always was when people attempted to hit on him.

"I am Caelum Black, the Head of the House of Black . I would like to be informed of the meeting times of the Wizengamot, as well as be supplied with someone who can introduce the Ministry to me."

Four widening pairs of eyes greeted him. So his reputation had preceded him. Or at least that of his name. Instead of being famous he appeared to be infamous in this world. Well, he'd face the consequences of his choices.

"Ah, Helena can help you there." The blond pointed at the second blond witch who looked as if she was right out of Hogwarts. But any doubt Caelum might have had about choosing her vanished when he let his mind brush against hers and encountered a buzzing activity that appeared to analyze everything in sight. He smiled slightly and the young witch blushed prettily.

"Great! Ms Helena; do you mind giving me an overview of the Wizangamot and the general functions of the Departments? I read a volume on law and am familiar with it but the everyday information I have not been able to find as of yet."

"Umh..." She was speechless for a moment, only capable of staring at him in disbelief over her thick frames. "I... Sure, Mr Black. If you don't mind taking a seat."

He was guided to sit in the chair opposite of her desk and she sat down on her own seat, clearing the scattered parchments on her desk into a neat pile.

"Shall I start at the beginning then? Wizengamot is the highest juridical organ of the Wizarding government of Britain. It is the court that judges offenders and convenes once every two weeks for routine meetings where the issue of laws is discussed. As the Head of the House of Black you have a seat among the members, as do all of the oldest and most influential wizarding families. There-"

"Is it possible for a muggleborn to gain a seat in the Wizengamot?" Caelum intervened. It hadn't been in his world and, if the vehement shaking of her head was anything to go by, it wasn't here either.

"No, one has to have at the least the status of a half-blood to sit in the Wizengamot. The number of members is always around fifty and new members are voted to their seats by the old members – unless it is a case such as yours. And as I was saying, a rotation of members is called in every Tuesday and Thursday for routine sessions to judge minor offenders. Not every crime committed in the Wizarding world will be judged by the full court, only the high profile cases and the gravest crimes. You following?"

The witch blushed when she realized the very informal way she was addressing a Head of an old family but she seemed to have been completely focused on her explanation.

Caelum waved her worry away. "You are a good teacher. Did you consider that profession?"

Now he was rewarded with a surprised blink. "Not really... Anyway, all of the cases go through us, the Wizengamot Administration Services, and we are also responsible for the records of all trials. The next full session is on the fourteenth and they will be discussing..." Caelum let her voice fall to the background as his mind took a different route. This place was what was keeping them from getting Sirius' files? He cast a quick glance and wondered if some seduction was in order... But was he ready for that?

His immediate answer was: _Hell no._

"-creatures. That's about what I can tell you about the Wizengamot. You were interested in the Departments?"

With a nod of permission the witch launched into a detailed description of all the governmental affairs going on in the ten levels of the Ministry. She was surprisingly well informed but not much was new to Caelum. It seemed that most differences between the worlds had originated from the past few decades. He could do this. He could survive and save this world. For himself and Harry.

When the witch finally finished, Caelum thanked her profoundly and apologised for taking so much of her time but being the Head of an old family had its perks and it seemed these women were always required to do something for the Wizengamot members. Good to know for the future, especially when he decided what to do with the Sirius situation.

At the moment he however had been reminded of his second seat on the Board of Hogwarts' Governors. Lucius Malfoy was one, and he should write and inquire about the responsibilities and meetings. The Defence Against the Dark Arts post could not be left in the hands of Quirrell... And he needed to check on the horcruxes, and destroy them.

The closest one was the locket in the cave but he _really_ didn't want to face thousands of inferi at the moment. It would leave a Dark stain on him that would last for weeks. The cup...? It would be easy to get. The charms were complex but having gone through them once already and with his Staff he could manage easily.

And now he got the feeling he'd forgotten something important... Ah, his Master had wanted British potions ingredients. Which meant the Apothecary in the Alley. He squished the sorrow spreading in his heart and briskly made his way to the elevator. One floo trip later he was in the Leaky Cauldron and the sorrow had turned into his instincts warning against this very strongly.

The mage stood indecisive until he realised the attention he was garnering and swished through the pub before Tom could try to talk to him. Well, at least he could go to the Alley before making the final decision. But as the tiles revealed the Alley and he stepped inside, the mage was frozen at the sight of a familiar figure just stepping out of the very shop he was supposed to be visiting.

His breath hitched in his throat and behind his shields his magic soared higher with recognition. The Potions Master was arranging something in the bag he was carrying and Caelum had a perfect view of his profile. His nose was crooked here as well, the mage noticed with distant amusement. The urge to run was so strong. He already took one step closer, the familiar name on his lips, ready to smother the love of his life with kisses and apologies when the man seemed to sense something and looked abruptly up, meeting him eye to eye.

A shudder passed through Caelum's body. He never wanted to see that look again in his life. Never from the one he cherished above all else... No!

Severus Snape Disapparated away and Caelum Black slumped against the wall of the cauldron shop.

So close...

* * *

A/N: A glimpse of Severus, and I'm sorry for the angst. The pace of this fic is going to quicken soon, so he will be making another appearance in a couple chapters :)


	13. Not Horcrux, Not Human

Another chapter for you, and it came out pretty fast. **aalens** again beta'd and she did a wonderful job. I don't particularly like this chapter because it has so many POVs but all of them were necessary and I did not want to make you wait months for an update (I have some unfinished school projects that I need to finish before the holidays).

It was also great to see so many reviews and here are some responses:

**kiki: **Yes, he has. It'll be addressed later.

**miikkuli:** No worries about me quitting this in the middle. I hate to read something good and then notice that it's not been updated in a long time. So unless I break all the bones in both of my hands or something equally drastic happens, I'll keep writing :) (even if takes a long time for updates)

**Ni Lemur: **To most of your questions: you have to wait to find out. But it is my opinion that Severus' disgust towards Sirius did not affect his feelings towards Blacks in general. He and Regulus joined the Death Eaters at about the same time and Sirius' brother would've provided a comparison point. Of course I'm not saying anything about Caelum's wishes to free Sirius... And I know the alternate universe is making everyone confused. I love to make things overly complicated and it'll be along time until everything is cleared. In my defense, suspense is on the warning list... :)

**SnowKissYuki:** Thanks for the reviews. I put OOC on the warning list exactly because there's hardly any canon Harry in Caelum (**Dragonist** might have wanted to read that too). There are some instances where it shines through but most of the time he's a completely different person who's lived in a world of war and politics for years and learned to survive. And I have big plans for Syl.

**Zana 20:** Hah! I've been expecting someone to bring this up. Now first of all, Rowling never states that Charlus and Dorea are Harry's grandparents (at least in my opinion). All she's told us about them is that they got old and died, like old people do. Generally writers accept it as a fact that Charlus and Dorea are Harry's grandparents and Harry and Sirius are cousins in a way - simply because it fits. I decided to create new people with ties to already existing characters. I've actually drawn a family tree but there are still some developments in the plot that I need to get out of the way before I can publish it. Now it would be too much of a spoiler. So clarification is on its way!

Second question: Caelum is from the future (year 2005) of an alternate universe where his lover Severus was killed in battle. He suffered the pain of losing the most important person in his life for a year before attempting to erase all emotions of his memories of Severus and the spell backfired, sending him to canon world in 1990. (Of course "canon" is applied very loosely with all the changes I'm making).

Third: Yes, there are many differences that Caelum has to deal with in the future. But I'm not going into too much detail at this point.

That's it. Now off to the story!

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and no money is made with this.

* * *

OF SHADOW, SHINE AND SHADES by dra6on

Chapter 12. Not Horcrux, Not Human

Caelum became vaguely aware of the concerned voice of a woman. He glanced up blinkingly and started taking in the details. He was still in the Alley. For a moment there he'd thought the world had fallen away... And the concerned witch was the owner of the cauldron shop.

"Mister? Are you all right? Should I floo St. Mungo's?"

He shook himself, spared a glance at his surroundings and Disapparated without answering any of the frantic questions. Safely in his bedroom at Grimmauld Place the mage collapsed on his bed and let out a shuddering breath, fighting the tears threatening to fall. He remembered the time when his lover had looked upon him with contempt and suspicion but that had not been for years. One lone tear slid down his cheek and a strangled sob escaped him until Caelum could get his pathetic self under control. Thanks to his meditation and fully functioning shields he would not break like he had upon his arrival but it still hurt.

_It hurt._

But if something, this drove in the first and foremost lesson he needed to remember.

They were strangers.

Severus did not know about snuggling on the couch.

He did not know about the long talks.

He was not the one whose life he had spared.

He knew nothing of their closeness.

He was not Caelum's Severus.

Just another Severus Snape. Someone with the face of his dead lover. How could he be so easily swayed? Could he not see that they were different? One glance and he'd been ready to confess his undying love to the snarky wizard.

"If he even is snarky here," Caelum said aloud and groaned with his idiocy, before smiling. Of course Severus would be snarky, that was one trait that would never change in his lover, as well as...

_I'm acting like a love sick teen when a moment ago I was near tears with the pain of his reaction. Ugh._

He shoved the feelings away to the recesses of his mind. He would meditate once he got back to Australia and try to get a feel on his true thoughts. If possible, he wanted this Severus too but if there were too many differences... that was what he'd been thinking about for the last few days, as well as his future plans. But obviously he still hadn't made the final decision.

"Later," the mage promised himself and rolled out of bed, landing softly on his toes. He might as well do something useful instead of moping around. He'd noticed earlier that Kreacher had come a long way in cleaning the place and he could start on the purification. His Master had provided everything he needed and now that Harry, Syl and Citala were all away he could concentrate in peace. You never knew what the Black family magic might have done had someone non-Black attended, even familiars who hadn't spent long periods in the house.

He summoned the bag of stones from non-space and got started. He walked to the attic and made his way down, placing one of the blue stones in each of the rooms and checking at the same time that they were in condition to be purified. Kreacher _had _done a good job. He was hard pressed to even find a speck of dust.

Finally he reached the kitchen and placed one in the hole that was Kreacher's home. The elf had appeared at some point and had been following him. Now that the stone was placed in his sleeping place, the creature decided to speak up, "Master, there is another room there."

"Huh?" He whipped his head around to see Kreacher pointing at the boiler. Carefully Caelum placed his hand with the Black ring on it and gasped in surprise as the boiler suddenly moved and a doorway was revealed. "What's in there?" he asked, not looking forward to explore a place that reeked with the Darkest of magic.

"Torture chambers, Master."

He closed his eyes almost in pain and swallowed the uneasiness away. It had to be done. As far as he could tell, this was the origin of the taint. Dark magic on its own was fine but with this added malevolence he was worried someone would get hurt sooner or later.

And with his luck it would be sooner rather than later.

A ball of pure white light appeared above his palm and the man walked through the doorway, the darkness swallowing him entirely. There were a couple of stairs and then he was in the room. But the only way he could tell was with the sense of space around him. The darkness kept swallowing the light of his magic.

_For how many years and how many must have suffered here_? he wondered. It had the same feel as the dungeons in Voldemort's headquarters had had, only older. The darkness seemed to breathe and he was reminded of his own buried memories of torture.

_No sense of day and night, only darkness and pain. It was usually dark and painless, except when they decided to have their fun without letting Him know. And when there was light, there was always pain. The despair... The desire to die, to end it all. How many days passed? How many curses, how many..._ He shuddered and had to close his eyes at the onslaught of memories. Caelum tasted blood; he'd bitten his own tongue.

Suddenly the room was bathed in green light that shone through his closed lids and seemed to drive the darkness further back but not away. He cracked his eyes open and had to smile at the almost defensive position the Staff had taken before him.

"Thank you." His voice was hoarse.

But now he could see the interior. He did not know when was the last time anyone living had come here but it seemed not even a decade had passed since some of the devices had been in use – probably in the First War. He swallowed at the sight of dried blood covering every inch of this place but at least the air was clear.

_Must be a spell, _he commented detachedly.

With a thought the Staff appeared in his hand and Caelum backed to the door.

"_Fire_." The whisper was followed but a sea of red flames tinged with green that erupted from the depths of the Emerald. The darkness that earlier had seemed content to just breathe now screamed and rose against the torrent of fire but was soon pushed aside. Everything burned and the darkness raged helplessly.

Caelum watched the flames lick at the walls and wished he could have burned his memories in the same manner. Some things even magic couldn't do and he let the fire dissipate with a sigh. The darkness immediately returned to its place and he didn't even consider walking back into the room. Instead, the wizard rolled three of the stones into the churning darkness and turned his back to the torture room and returned to the kitchen.

"Master?" He'd nearly forgotten Kreacher.

"Stay close," he ordered and the elf came to stand nearly on his toes. He stifled an amused snort and fished the biggest of the stones out of the bag. In fact all of the stones were part of the same one, the smaller ones cut off to be placed around the purified area.

He channelled the magic of the Blacks through his ring, focusing it on the stone in his hands and felt all the separate pieces respond all around the house.

"_DeducoTenebrae. Deduco Mansio._" His voice echoed with the power of the Blacks in their home dwelling, and the mage shuddered as the old and Dark magic washed over him.

The stone in his hands shattered into fine dust and an invisible wind picked up the remains, throwing them around the kitchen. He knew the same was happening in all of the rooms of the house and he stayed put as the purifying magic swept over the Blacks' London house. Looking down, he saw Kreacher regard the dust with a curious air, all the while keeping close to his master. He felt the flow of the Black magic change direction and blinked as an angry scream tore the air before being suddenly cut off. That was that.

"_Finite_." The dust still whirling in the kitchen vanished and Caelum smiled when a burden seemed to vanish from his shoulders. The magic was still Dark, there was no question about that, but now he did not doubt its loyalty. There was no malevolence, no threat. Like an old bitter dog who had been given back its youth and had abandoned all those feelings of resentment.

"We're done," he told the elf who immediately vanished and reappeared. Caelum only had time to blink.

"Master, there is a floo call."

He nodded and was on his way but not before awarding the old house elf with a smile and nod. The little creature bowed.

"Mister Malfoy, to what do I owe the pleasure?" He was genuinely surprised to find the blond head of Lucius Malfoy floating in his fireplace. Had Citala delivered the letter already? He really should buy her some treats.

"Ah, finally. I tried earlier but apparently you were out on business."

Caelum knelt next to the hearth and nodded. "Scrimgeour had concerns about my arrival. Nothing serious, I assure you. The matter was dealt with within minutes but I also visited the Wizengamot Administration Office."

"Excellent." The blond wizard actually looked pleased. "I suppose we shall be seeing you at the next meeting on the fourteenth. However, I was interested in offering you the chance to meet the Hogwarts' governors. We are meeting within an hour at my mansion and the Head of an old family is always welcome."

_He wants me to owe him a favour for suggesting this_, Caelum realized. _But I need to meet them. And no honour bindss me to acknowledge any favours of Malfoy's._

"I would be happy to." Caelum grinned. "Actually I hold a seat on the Board and finding out about it was my next mission. I will be there within an hour."

Some of the satisfaction vanished from Malfoy's eyes, and the man nodded curtly before ending the firecall. Caelum smirked and leaned back against the recliner sitting close the fireplace. He still knew how to play the game and he would keep playing - for Harry who had lost so much. He did hope that Hermione, Teddy, Andy and Mike were all alright in his old universe and he did miss them, but he knew he was needed here, or the Fates wouldn't have interfered with his spell.

This thought produced a dry chuckle. Had anyone else tried that spell it would have likely ended up working but he and his luck and the plans Destiny had for him never would have allowed for the quiet life he'd planned. Retire from all of his posts within a couple of years, making sure his successors were competent, and go to Bermuda for the rest of his life, maybe write a book or seven about his life. The muggles would have loved the fantasy.

Fighting again... At least life wasn't boring or predictable. And life with Harry could be good; he'd have someone to care for, and someone would care for him. At least until the boy grew up.

_Just, PLEASE, don't let him marry Ginny. Or even date her_, Caelum sent a silent request to the mightier powers in their high abode. _I do not want that girl as my daughter-in-law._

When the absurdity of that plea registered in his brain the man could only laugh at his own silliness. Some people had left deep impressions behind and Ginerva Weasley was one he could not think about without feeling chills run down his back. He'd come very near hurting the girl in his seventeenth year. Hmm, Harry should be warned about how to handle his fans.

Caelum had to change his clothes for the visit and donned himself in blue robes that now suited him perfectly with his currently black eyes (he'd brewed a potion to change the colour for weeks at a time and no longer had to bother with glamours as his tattoos were covered with make-up and he already looked good enough to stop hiding small details). He also placed a floo-call to the Apothecary on Diagon Alley and paying double price had allowed him to get his Master's ingredients without stepping one foot inside the shop.

And when he finally stepped into the fireplace himself and felt the magic whisk him towards Malfoy Manor, he had nearly forgotten his encounter with the man sharing his lover's face and, possibly, past.

It was weird to be visiting Malfoy Manor again after such a short while but this time the host himself had not deigned to escort him to the room and the task had been left to a house elf who kept alternating between bowing and stealing glances up at him. He absentmindedly wondered what the little creature's problem was but had no time to find the answer, the doors opened revealing a beautiful room with several recliners and people sitting in them.

"Good timing, Mr Black," Lucius greeted, and rose from his seat gracefully. "Let us get the introductions out of the way. This is..."

Eleven people had gathered in the meeting room and Caelum recognized only half of them. Henry Clearwater, Suzanne Little and Eliza Plumpton had held positions in the Ministry in his old universe and Philip Penrose, Norman Waffling and Rupert Williamson he knew from their work with experimental magics for war usage. What they did in this world he had not a clue. The rest were introduced as Matthias Wible, Noira LaFolle, Fredyn Llewellyn, Nolan Gamp and Samuel Lufkin.

Generally only twelve members should occupy the seats of the governors and a debate ensued after Malfoy's declaration of Caelum's status as the one to occupy the inherited Black seat. The members were on the verge of voting one of them out when Caelum put his foot down and asked very rationally, "Is there a regulation stating that the number of members should always stay at twelve?"

He reminded himself about the importance of tradition and the dangers of going against it when he'd then been subjected to an even more ferocious debate to defend tradition and history. Though, in the end he'd won – mostly because none of the wizards and witches present were inclined to lose their seat in the Board.

"Ah, now that the little problem is dealt with we should discuss the school," Lucius took the lead after they had all settled down once again, their number now solidly decided on thirteen. "I had a meeting with Dumbledore regarding his continued absence from the school. I believe he was even absent from the teachers' start of the year meeting but he assured me nothing was wrong."

"I understand your son starts his schooling next year?" Nolan Gamp asked. His brown hair had grey streaks in it and his brown eyes seemed to hide darkness within them. Caelum remembered the Black relationship to the Gamps from the family tree and had only answered Gamp's inquiring looks with nods so far.

"Yes, I'm certain Draco will make me proud." Lucius' eyes darkened. "Harry Potter will also be starting in Hogwarts. His return to the public's eye will most certainly be controlled by Dumbledore."

This reminder brought an exited rush of whispers among the governors and Caelum had to force himself to relax. He did not want to hear the familiar name from Malfoy's mouth, especially along with Dumbledore's. _Dumbledore's Golden Boy_... He'd spent years fighting the public's assumption about his loyalty to the leader of the Light.

"Mr Potter's location has remained secret all these years if I remember correctly?" Caelum prodded carefully, playing the part of an ignorant foreigner. "He was placed with muggles?"

"It was a rumour that Dumbledore never confirmed," Eliza Plumpton answered. "He's always been eccentric but Dedalus Diggle swears he spotted Harry Potter a couple years back in the muggle world."

"Pardon my ignorance, but why was he placed under Dumbledore's watch?" He did not like the interested glint in Malfoy's eyes at that last piece of information. "Shouldn't the Ministry retain the responsibility over him? Since Sirius Black was incarcerated?"

"It was a chaotic time," Suzanne Little informed him. "By the time anyone thought to question his placement it had already been days after that dreadful Hallowe'en and... Sirius Black was in no condition to receive the guardianship of the Boy-Who-Lived. There were still Death Eaters at large. The Longbottom case among others comes to mind. His placement in the safety of the muggle world was well argued."

"Huh." Anger shimmered beneath his shields at the blatant trust in Dumbledore. He nearly missed the barely concealed look of disgust on Malfoy's face.

The governors moved on to other matters. Caelum got a crash course on the staff and general rules since he was playing the part of the ignorant new member and indeed some teachers he did not recognize by name. The meeting dragged on until dinner time and he turned down an offer to dine with the Malfoys with the excuse of another engagement, and was the first to leave.

oooOOOooo

Lucius Malfoy stood in his office staring out of the large window. He was still in his day-time robes despite the lateness of the hour, and his desk was still covered with parchment when normally at this time he would have already retired for the night. But sleep was avoiding him and the reason for this was easy to recognize.

Caelum Orion Black.

The new Head of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black.

The half-blood Head of an old Dark family.

Narcissa had been impressed by both his attitude and his magic. And there was no denying that the man looked like a Black and anyone capable of handling Cassiopeia Black – no matter how deviant their methods might be – deserved respect. Draco liked him.

However, Lucius' thoughts were drawn to their first meeting in Diagon Alley. He'd recognized the man from the picture supplied by the goblins and had approached him even if the hawk and the general look screamed the stranger to be an odd one. It had been his responsibility on Narcissa's behalf, and he knew his wife had been excited about the news of a new relative, even with the mystery of his past.

He had approached but had not even got one word out when the man had whirled around and...

For a few precious moments Lucius had been certain his life was in danger.

Then the mask had fallen in place though the black eyes had never lost that edge: refusing to shake hands, always staying tense, forced small talk, surprisingly knowledgeable about the Blacks.

Such a mystery...

And by the breakfast on Boxing Day he'd changed. The mask was in place and every move was calculated. Such power and Caelum Black knew it. The man had walked _without a wand_ into a meeting of people that had all the reason to hate him and had still come out on top and had pounded into their heads that he was not one to be challenged without due cause.

Arrogant but with a valid reason. Almost courageous.

The governors' meeting had been Lucius' attempt to have the powerful man owe him a favour from his introducing him to many prominent witches and wizards. Dumbledore always did whatever he wanted and it was not the first time the old wizard had left Hogwarts for prolonged periods of time, but it had worked as an excuse. To learn that Blacks in fact held a permanent seat on the Board had been a surprise – it had been last claimed before Phineas Nigellus Black's time as a headmaster - Lucius had checked – and that his favour had simply made Caelum Black's claiming of the seat easier which he'd done without hesitation... and Cassiopeia had claimed the man to not be very Slytherin!

This meeting had proven the old witch wrong. Black had not done much but he had managed to keep their names straight on his first try and memorized every detail: smart, powerful, wealthy... about to secure his place in British politics. The name Black carried a Dark history and Lucius was eager to see whether or not this near foreigner lived up to the expectations. If the few separate clues were anything to go by, he was not a stranger to killing and had been trained to face many different situations and adapt to them.

_Dangerous_, Lucius' mind supplied. Oh yes, Caelum Black was dangerous. But was he dangerous to the Malfoys? The initial hostility had been hidden and the close relationship should matter.

Then why did he feel there was more to this than he could ever guess?

"Lucius? Why are you still up? It's close to two in the morning."

He graced Narcissa with a smile as the woman silently glided to stand next to him and looked up to the waning moon at which Lucius had barely spared a glance. "Did something happen at the meeting?"

"Simply your newest cousin," he replied. The woman's eyebrows rose and her blue eyes turned speculative.

"I see. He obviously cares for Draco but has limited patience. He won't act against us."

"Are you certain?" Lucius challenged her. "He obviously has some views that clash with ours. And the power he wields through his name and his own magic is noteworthy. People are talking already. They know _magic_ chose him over Sirius. I know from a trusted source that the Prophet is intending to do an article on him, and as far as I know we are the only family he has had any contact with. What is he planning?"

Narcissa's soft laugh echoed in the office. "It has been some time since I've seen you this worried. He has been in the country for a few weeks and is taking his time to settle down. And when have we Blacks not been devious? Sirius doesn't count," she added. "But we also value family and if I could read the atmosphere well enough, so does he. He might have been rough but he was not the first one to lose his patience," his wife continued at seeing his doubtful expression. "Had Aunt Cassiopeia showed him respect, I'm sure he would have responded with the same. His heritage leaves a lot to be desired, but I'm sure it can't be all that there is. Orion was not a man to show any consideration towards muggles. He would have killed a muggleborn woman rather than let her carry his child. Caelum's mother must have been of a decent wizarding descent."

The wizard quieted down to consider this. Narcissa had a point. But what did Caelum Black achieve by hiding his heritage? Was there something unconventional about his mother's family? Something the public couldn't be allowed to know?

Something Lucius should know?

"It can wait till morning," his wife admonished him dryly and slipped her arm around his. "I think I've had enough of admiring the moon. Shall we?"

As Lucius followed his wife he had to smile. Black might be dangerous but so was he. So was he.

oooOOOooo

The same waning moon lighting Lucius Malfoy's office was shining high above the dry and cold desert where Caelum Black now found himself. He was in the middle of the Sahara, most likely in Chad though he'd started from Tripoli. It was hard to say with the African magical countries not following the muggle borders.

He was horcrux hunting.

_I never thought I'd do this again_, the man thought, while reinforcing the warming charm he'd applied to his cloak. It was freezing and he'd been at this since dinner. The temperature had dropped faster than he remembered but he was disinclined to give up at this point. He bloody well had found the chamber earlier and knew where it was. It did not matter that worry about Harry was gnawing at his gut and it did not matter that his teeth were rattling with the cold.

The Staff had come out of the non-place and was lighting his surroundings to keep him from tripping over his own feet but the mage could feel its disapproval of this excursion. Well, he had thought to get rid of a horcrux, and while the locket had been closer, the cup was easier. If only he could find the damn place.

Caelum Apparated again. Sand, all he could see was sand. His locator spell was useless and he should have expected that: a place that you could only find if you weren't looking for it. The enchantment should have been broken with him actually knowing the exact location but apparently it had reapplied itself in this new universe. Why, when he'd kept his magical titles, the mage did not know. He put it down to specific quirks in magic.

And it was not the first time tonight that he'd thought of this. Earlier he'd closed his eyes and spent a good two hours on walking in the warmth of the setting sun, counting on his luck more than on anything else. It hadn't worked.

"Of all the bloody inconveniences..." the wizard muttered and turned his back on the twinkling Emerald that was telling him to go back to his young ward who must have been dying of worry. He'd been gone for over 24 hours, and was beginning to doubt the place's existence in this universe. He _prayed_ things wouldn't get that complicated but that didn't mean the possibility didn't exist.

"Oh fine!" he snapped after an additional half an hour's hike. It was clear nothing was going to be found tonight and he really was beginning to worry. But this only meant he'd have to do the work of finding the chamber at another time.

He summoned the Staff and tried to Apparate. Keyword: tried. There was an Anti-Apparition ward and as far as he knew (and he should, after spending a month trekking this desert from one end to another) there was only one Anti-Apparition ward strong enough to stop him.

"Thank Merlin and all the gods and goddess of Old."

A little excavation revealed the entrance, buried under three feet of sand but a couple of spells later the hole was revealed and the mage dropped in.

The first room he, Hermione and- ...Ron had dubbed as the mural room because of the blue, green and brown swirls that someone had painted on the walls thousands and thousands of years ago. He stepped on two tiles that would trigger the traps and immediately threw his body back to avoid the magical arrows flying from the walls. This time all missed him.

He waited for his heart rate to slow down before continuing forwards. He really wished Hermione was here, as a backup. _She's probably excited about returning to school at this point_, Caelum thought , keeping his steps slow and light. _Ten year old Hermione, who thought I'd see that again?_ He abandoned his thoughts the moment he reached the doorway to the second room. Now his worst fear. Not a boggart but an artefact that embodied the powers of boggarts with the simple lack of instinct of self preservation. No Riddiculus would work against this.

Caelum steeled himself against seeing the dead body of his lover on the floor and froze when nothing happened. He looked around, bewildered, and tilted his head, pondering on the ramifications. Had Voldemort for some reason changed the traps? But the arrows had been the same, and this place was so hard to find that if someone had left out the boggart device, shouldn't they have left out the arrows as well? He did not like unexplainable changes. What if something had been changed at the entrance and he'd been decapitated when he dropped in?

Definitely did not like unexplainable changes.

_Assumptions get you killed. Constant vigilance and..._ He took one step forward. Nothing, no boggart, no magic. He couldn't even _see_ any indication of magic in the second room and after infusing his magic with the Emerald's he'd come to regard the flashing colours of magic as an everyday occurrence. When earlier he'd always had to concentrate to even see Hogwarts magic – and it was a wonder not everyone saw that! – the Mage Sight now came ridiculously easily.

But the room stayed stubbornly bare except for the dozen tiles that would trigger the quicksand. He avoided those easily and was at the entrance of the third and last room. Easy. Far too easy.

Trepidation churning in the pit of his stomach Caelum stepped into the last room and froze at the sight.

_Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs_, his mind supplied, and he had to admit it was an accurate description. Except that the girl in the glass coffin was not human.

She was a High Elf.

Among the high pillars holding the ceiling of the chamber in place sat a coffin, trimmed in silver and precious jewels. The walls had been painted again, this time with fiery vines that wrapped around the pillars and rose from the stone tiles of the floor to surround the coffin and formed the bed on which she rested. And the girl... she had the ageless face of high elves but appeared young. Her ears were pointy, as they were pictured to be in the few old paintings Caelum had seen, her hair looked like moon light spun into threads and she was simply an image of perfection

The mage walked slowly forwards holding his breath. He had the sense he was seeing something forbidden, something even he should not interfere with. The scene screamed "sacred". Even with the lack of magic in the entire chamber, he felt _honoured _to have seen this.

Very, _very_ carefully he leaned forwards to get a better look and noticed some writing carved on the surface of the glass. Elven alphabet that he couldn't read. He doubted even Ollivander could have translated the Olde Words. But then again...

"Can you translate?"

The Staff had been hovering on the background during his slow progress but it had lighted his way and he'd felt the protective presence behind him at all times. Now it flashed next to him, casting the chamber into darkness for a short while before shining its green light upon the words.

"_Thus_ _lies Daughter of Yelvyn whose Spirit shines upon this Worlde evermore. May thou journey in Peace._" He read the words aloud and realization struck him. It was a body, not a sleeping alive elf. Well, that was... disappointing. This was a tomb but he could almost feel the sacred atmosphere dissipating at the realization. Had it been a tomb in his original universe? And more importantly...

Where the hell were the horcruxes?

oooOOOooo

Caelum wasn't back. He hadn't come back, and no matter what Master said Harry couldn't help feeling betrayed. He'd _trusted_ Caelum. And at the first chance the wizard had _left_ him. And no, not the normal leaving you might get with Aunt Petunia in the supermarket (though that had happened only once). No, Caelum had left him in _Australia_.

On the other hand, he was feeling pretty damn angry too. Caelum had _promised!_ Promised that they'd be together, had acted like he cared, so Harry had cared too.

He'd even learned the Mind Arts and had been waiting for ten whole hours to tell Caelum he'd managed to find his mind-scape. Master had been amazed and he was sure Caelum would be too. If he ever came back.

The boy glanced at the clock. Five past noon. He sighed and resumed his meditating. There was so much to be done inside his mind. If he'd known about this earlier he could have avoided so many boring moments in his cupboard! Inside his mind he was all powerful. He could fly with a thought and if he wanted another flower to sprout from the moist earth, it would. And it would bloom right away and never wither in the twilight of his mind.

In the air the stray memories were whirling around like the fireworks he'd seen on telly. There were a lot of them and Master had shown him how to introduce control into the chaos. He was to catch one on his palm, experience it again and then plant it into the earth from where a new flower would bloom. It was a beautiful meadow and Harry loved it – not that he didn't like the Dursleys' garden too that his Master said to be the inspiration for his mind-scape. He'd muttered it was truly a miracle he'd been able to enjoy anything related to the Dursleys. Harry was pretty sure he wasn't supposed to hear that last bit.

He was also currently building a wall around his mind. When it was done, there would be a three feet thick tile wall around the meadow and his thoughts and it would protect his mind. He smiled at the whirling fireworks once more before returning to the real world.

"-complications."

Harry blinked at the familiar voice and whirled around to face the door of the house. Caelum! His face split into a smile before he remembered he was supposed to be angry and feeling betrayed, not welcoming the wizard home. He unintentionally scowled.

"Harry, are you alright?"

He glared at the man, mustering up all that emotion he'd been feeling before visiting his mind-scape and saw the confused look on Caelum's face.

"You didn't come back," he accused, his eyes immediately widening. But he was quick to remind himself of what Caelum had said. He wanted Harry to be himself and the boy was pretty sure he wouldn't be punished for speaking his mind.

"I didn't...? I..." The wizard floundered for a moment before sighing and kneeling before him. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you. I got caught up in my work."

Harry pondered on that. He'd loved it when they'd driven to this place. And he'd really liked the couple of days they'd spent in Sydney. He had been able to do all kinds of things and Caelum had been with him all the time, but here Harry was concentrating on learning and Caelum was concentrating... on something else. He really wanted to go back to the way things had been.

"Can we leave?"

Harry didn't dare to look up. He wanted to know Caelum's secrets but he didn't want the wizard to stop caring. It really felt like a _family_. Caelum had given him gifts and listened to him and _wanted_ to know what he was thinking. But not in this place, he did not want to lose that feeling.

"Leave? Is something wrong?"

The boy swallowed and peered from beneath his bangs. He noticed that Master was sitting at the table sipping from a bottle of soda and his attention was on both his guests. Harry felt shame at his selfishness. Master was teaching him and he wanted to leave before finishing up? But...

"You- it's nothing." He chickened out at the last moment and lowered his head. _I guess I can do this..._

"Harry." The boy jumped at the serious tone and automatically looked up at Caelum. The man's now black eyes were shining with concern and confusion. They were so warm Harry felt even his heart was warmed by having someone look at him like that. The wizard stared down at this young ward for a moment before reaching out and ruffling his hair.

"I'm sorry." Harry blinked in confusion, both at the unfamiliar admission and at the regretful tone. "I knew I should have come earlier," Caelum continued, letting his hand rest on the boy's head. "Someone even told me I should come to you because you would be worried. I got engrossed in something and you'll come to know that I'm pretty stubborn. I just wouldn't give up until I was finished. It took too long, and I am sorry that I made you worry."

Harry swallowed. That was... okay. He said so and Caelum smiled down at him. Without warning the ten year old threw his arms open and hugged Caelum's waist tight. And suddenly his mind was filled with images.

_A room... people sitting at chairs, talking together. "Son... ...Hogwarts". White and gray and blue._

The boy froze and his eyes shot open. Still another picture entered his mind. _Ancient stone pillars... Girl behind glass. Writing._

Harry let go, got another ruffling of hair and watched with unseeing eyes as Caelum strode to kitchen, starting on dinner as he'd taken on the task of feeding everyone. What was that...? His green eyes slid over to Master who was still watching him and now smirking. His cream coloured eyes sifted to the same molten lava they had when Caelum had introduced them.

Harry shuddered.

_What was that?_

* * *

A/N: Check out the **POLL**!. Where should Harry be sorted? Unless the fifth house wins, I'm not including it in the story. It was just an idea I had when developing this story but now I think it would just make things overly complicated. But if you want it, I can return to that idea.

And, as I said, another long wait for an update. Remember to _review_ in the meantime!


	14. Breaking the Habit

An update. Eight months have passed and I'm well on my way to university and high school is now in the past. I've been concentrating on my life for a while and writing suffered from that. It was necessary but the break lasted even longer that I thought. I was suppoced to have updated in the beginning of June but things happened and I could not concentrate on fanfiction. I have, however, written something during my absence and I have started about six or seven new fics but I have learned from past mistakes and I am not going to publish anything unless I have at least a 100 pages written and the entire plot planned. With the lack of creational outlet my mind has taken to forming new ideas every other week and no time to spend with them.

Concentrating on Of Shadow, Shine and Shades now. Here's a small recap of what has happened in the past prologue + 12 chapters:

_Harry James Potter-Black attempts a memory spell to lessen the depression he feels from losing his lover a year ago. The spell backfires and he is thrown into another (canonish) world. As a mage Harry has been central to the two wars fought in his world and he graps his chance at a new life. Contacting the goblins he establishes himself as Caelum Black, the halfblood son of Orion Black and Sirius' brother who has just arrived from Australia. The changes between the two worlds keep confusing him, especially as many of the people he comes across have died in his world - Lucius Malfoy being one of these persons. The two men meet during Caelum's excursion to Diagon Alley where he also finds himself a snake, Syl, and a White Hawk, Citala. _

_Returning to Grimmauld Place he is accosted by his Black relatives; Arcturus, Lucreatia, Melania and Cassiopeia. After dealing with his unwelcoming relatives Caelum takes it upon himself to check up on this world's Harry. He finds him in Privet Drive, not in Brighton as he'd believed, and decides to adopt the boy under his fake muggle identity. He informs Harry of magic and the boy's status in the wizarding world and offers him a family and a home. Harry accepts but Caelum has already arranged a breakfast meeting with his relatives in the morning and has to leave the boy alone in Grimmauld Place._

_During the breakfast Caelum establishes himself as a powerful wizard whom the people should not anger without just cause. His instincts however urge him to return to Harry which he does only to find the boy conversing with Phineas Nigellus. Caelum erases the painting's memory but feels there are too many risks involved with staying in England and decides to take Harry to Australia to his old Mind Arts Master to learn Occlumency. The two leave on the spot. Harry has a health check in Sydney and gets rid of his glasses. The two wizards make their way to Caelum's acquaintance. They are accepted and it is revealed that Harry's scar is indeed a Horcrux. The Mind Arts Master helps bind it to stop its effect on Harry._

_Caelum alone returns to England for his scheduled meeting at the Ministry and at the same time meets with the goblins. They have not manage to proceed with Sirius' case and he gets information about the Potter account. Later he meets with Scrimgeour who questions him about his "illegal" entry into the country. On the same visit arranges his Wizengamot affairs and returns through the Leaky Cauldron. Catches a glimpse of Severus on the street outside._

_Caelum purifies the Grimmauld Place of the foul energy it has been storing. Attends a surprise meeting with the Governors and decides to go after the horcruxes now that he has a chance. Unaware of Lucius' grwoing suspicions the mage goes to Egypt to find the Cup. Instead finds a tomb with one of the High Elves in it. Returns to Australia only to find Harry has been worried and hurries to reassure him. Mean while Harry has developed some surprising talents of his own..._

I thought about answering some of the reviews but it's been so long that if something really bugs you about this fic you can ask it again (at least that adds to my reviews :)) Again I reassure you that while the wait between updates may be long, I am not abandoning fanfiction without notice unless I suddenly drop dead. Which hopefully won't happen for the next hundred years or so.

And on a happier note I have four chapters already written and I'll publish them all within a month. A word of caution; this fic's pace quickens now so where as it has taken me 12 chapters to clear about two weeks, we'll get to Hogwarts by the 20th chapter. I'll try to make the time pass as smoothly as possible.

Thank you, and now the chapter!

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and no money is made with this.

* * *

OF SHADOW, SHINE AND SHADES by dra6on

Chapter 13. Breaking the Habit

Apprehension filled Caelum as he strode through the grimy dark door into the Courtroom Ten. His mind was filled with images from his earlier visits to this place, mainly the Death Eater trials of the Second War. The few he had not killed. Severus', for example.

He was almost late with the intention of letting everyone else settle to their seats before coming in. He did not want to relocate in case some old representative of a family that had been considered powerful some two hundred years ago decided to raise a ruckus. It had happened – before the man had realized exactly who he was accusing. No fear of that happening here, especially with the dreadful plum coloured robes they were wearing. Caelum had to suppress a shudder at the sight of over a fifty witches and wizards robed in that colour.

He was given the agenda list for this day. There would be two trials and one presentation of a bill on raising the budget for protection of muggleborns' parents. Wards around their houses and possibility to contact the Ministry of Magic should need arise. Caelum had read it through last week and felt contradicted. It was good and all but he doubted it would pass. Where would the money come from? From the wizarding families, of course. Muggles did not pay taxes to the wizarding government.

There used to be wards around the homes of underage muggleborns to detect magic but they had been replaced by the Trace that was attached directly to an underage wizard or witch's magical core, and the tether on the wand itself – assuming it was from Ollivander's. Should a spell be cast in the vicinity, the nearby area would be checked for an adult wizard, and the wand would send an immediate signal if it was used outside Hogwarts' wards. That's how magical detection worked. Harry hadn't sent a signal because he was yet to enrol in Hogwarts and even if someone had cast the Trace already, he'd been inside the wards of Grimmauld Place. Even Caelum had to admit those were impressive.

So were the wards protecting the seats, separating them from the platform down on the floor. He discreetly observed them, watching the intricate play of different colours as the protecting magic swirled. They were powerful enough to stop any Light and Dark magic, except for the most powerful of course. He supposed it was necessary, especially with every wizarding politician's obsession with self-importance.

He finally took his seat on the highest row and looked around, smiling at the governors he recognized. They acknowledged him back but continued to concentrate on the case at hand. He had to stifle a yawn as the first trial dragged on. Some man was accused of cursing his neighbours, which ultimately led to the death of said neighbours one of whom had been a muggleborn. The lawyer tried his best but there was nothing to defend the man with. He had known there would be consequences and still decided to do it. That he hadn't meant to kill them per say did not mean much. In the current climate Dark Arts were not accepted and the man had resorted to them in his cursing. He was sentenced for ten years in Azkaban. Everyone knew it was as good as a life sentence for not many had survived that long in the hellish Dementor guarded prison with their sanity intact and capable of joining the society afterwards.

The man had just been escorted out of the court room by two Aurors his desperate cries still echoing in the empty air of the corridor. This was the moment that Albus Dumbledore decided to appear.

Truly, Caelum had been expecting to see him earlier. This was a full session and to have the Chief Warlock absent was unacceptable. His eyes were glued on the tall white bearded figure as the old wizard made his way to the Chief Warlock's seat, and he was not the only one. Disapproval was visible on many faces and Caelum was certain most were hiding their disdain at Dumbledore's chosen attire. He hid a smirk at the sight of mice chasing each other in the hem of the wizard's robe. But that smirk soon vanished as he felt the pulsating presence of the Elder Wand enter his range of perception. He refrained from twitching uncomfortably but his magic was beginning to get agitated.

One deep breath, used to fortify his Occlumency shields, later the mage raised his eyes and unsurprisingly met the twinkling blue gaze straight on. Apparently Dumbledore too was interested in him and Caelum inclined his head politely. The old hatred towards the wizard was churning in the pit of his stomach but he kept it out of his face. Dumbledore responded and turned to the front as the next prisoner was brought forwards. Caelum stared at the old man's head for a moment longer, remembering his dead, defiled body before turning to follow the proceedings as well.

A thought occurred to him. This Dumbledore had less to answer for than his had had.

_But he still harmed Harry, no matter how indirectly. The question is: Did this one know what he condemned a young child to when he left him on the steps of Magic hating muggles?_

Getting an answer would be difficult if not impossible.

_For now treat him as the enemy._ A small smile rose to Caelum's lips. _Much easier to hate him than to try to understand him._

He was pulled out of his thoughts as the accused woman started spilling profanities at Dumbledore and the other judges. She was immediately silenced by an angry Auror but it did not stop her from trying to scream some more. Accused of killing two dozen Muggles because they'd been partying too loud next door. This in itself would not be enough to warrant a Kiss but the fact that she had attacked the Aurors coming to apprehend her would earn her the Kiss – especially because she had managed to kill two men. Caelum could already feel the Dementor's presence not far from here. But he had to wonder… Why on earth the woman had chosen to live so close to Muggles without applying silencing spells in the first place? And why had she worsened her sentence from imprisonment to loss of soul? An idiot would know that harming a person of magical inheritance was a far worse crime than killing muggles.

_Wizards truly are idiots_, the mage silently fumed as her fate was sealed. He and many more rose from their seats to take a brief break during which the sentence would be carried out. He always found the sight of a feeding Dementor disturbing even if the person losing their souls deserved it. He caught Malfoy's eye and the older man nodded once before rising to follow him.

"I take it you find Dementors as unpleasant as most do," the blond commented as he joined Caelum at the base of the stairs. The younger one sighed.

"Not their presence. It fails to affect me. Simply the idea of a wizard's soul being used to feed them," he responded honestly. Malfoy managed to look intrigued and bored at the same time and motioned for them to take their leave. The raven haired man followed after him, the coldness intensifying with every step he took. His neck tingled in warning.

"NOOOOO!"

He whirled around and caught sight of the green light erupting from a wand the prisoner had seized in her desperation. It impacted and soon a body thumped against the floor. Calmness took over Caelum and his body moved automatically. Slightly crouching he saw the desperation etched on the woman's face at her last bid her freedom. She was an excellent fighter and the few Aurors in the room had been taken by surprise with the death of their comrade. _The wards_. He heard someone curse near him but knew there was no danger from behind. The only danger was the woman with the wand and she was coming towards him clearly thinking the true danger lay behind her as her eyes didn't leave the Aurors and the rows of seats.

The mage huffed and seized her just as she was passing him. His left arm wound around her waist pinning her other arm effectively and the other plucked the wand out of her hand as easily as taking a toy from a child. She only had time to tense as he threw the wand away and painfully twisted her still free arm, forcing the woman to her knees. She finally screamed in utter desperation as her fate was sealed for the second time within minutes.

"Let me go, please let me go, I'll do anything, anything you want…" She started to cry.

Caelum became aware of the monster floating behind him and closed his eyes, cursing. Damn, damn, FUCK IT! What was it with his luck?

He forced the woman up and turned her towards the floating embodiment of fear. He could feel the many Patroni being conjured in the room but he was too close to the monster and they too far away for any of the warmth to seep through the monster's aura and into him. He looked up.

The Dementor had already lowered its hood and reaching for its soon to be victim. Caelum surrendered the woman and watched the nauseating scene unfold before his eyes. The woman's screams soon quieted as her soul was sucked out and the Dementor let her empty body drop to the floor where it lay. Then it turned to Caelum, reaching towards him with the grey and dead hands.

The shock at the act lasted only a second.

"**Vanish!**" the mage hissed, lacing his voice with power and the Dementor jerked back as if slapped. Caelum nailed it with his scorching gaze, willing his power to show in his eyes.

The Dementor screamed. It turned on its heels and flew out of the room while the inhuman wail kept the humans frozen to their spots. The spell was broken as Caelum straightened his frame and shook his head. The entire Wizengamot seemed to shudder and release a breath they had been holding. Still, everyone's eyes stayed on the silently cursing mage.

"Lucius, perhaps we should leave before there's another incident." He did not like the atmosphere in the room.

"Certainly." Luckily the Malfoy always had been quick to take advantage of a situation and the blonde wizard steered him through the immobilized crowd. They both glared at the Aurors attempting to approach them and unsurprisingly they were left alone. It was only in the corridor that Caelum let himself relax slightly. He had been ready to rip into anyone attempting to stop them.

"The audacity of that creature. Attempting to attack you? I shall talk with the Minister about its punishment."

He glanced at the Dark Wizard by his side but did not answer right away. Being in his old enemy's company still made him uncomfortable.

"I did not wish to interfere. However as it seemed the Aurors were tackled by their incompetence I saw no other choice. The moment she passed us, she would have regarded us as enemies as well and we would have been subjected to her desperate attack." Caelum rubbed his temples. "And the Dementor was punished enough. Did you not hear it scream?"

He could tell Malfoy was attempting to rein in his curiosity but finally the silence was enough. "It was truly a show of power. The way you forced it to retreat speaks of exceptional power."

"Nothing more than what was required to override my brother's position. And Blacks have always had powerful magic." His eyes followed the flow of people as the courtroom was emptied of people. The Auror's body was levitated away and it was announced that they would reconvene in an hour. During the wait their statements would be collected. It was Madam Bones herself that approach him and Lucius.

"Mr. Malfoy. I need to get your testimony on the death." She only nodded to them both before concentrating on the blond wizard.

"Ah, Madam Bones." A dangerous glint entered the man's eyes but Caelum only noticed it due to practice. "I'm afraid I did not see that much. I was not paying attention and I only noticed the disturbance when the prisoner screamed. The next time I laid my eyes on her, she was already being Kissed."

"And you, Mister…?"

Caelum bowed his head slightly. "Caelum Black, Head of the House of Black. I was first alerted to her scream and I saw her kill the Auror with the Killing Curse. She was coming in my direction but her attention was on the Aurors behind her and I decided to seize her before I too was included in her targets. And as she was already sentenced to the Kiss I saw no reason not to surrender her to the Dementor."

"And after?" She leaned forward slightly but nothing else betrayed her interest in the answer. Caelum let his lip curl in disgust.

"And after the Dementor seemed to decide one soul was not enough and reached out to take a hold of me. I commanded it to stand down and it left."

"Really? That is all?" She did not believe him. "What exact words did you use?"

"I told it to 'vanish'. Then I glared at it. And it left screaming." He kept an appropriate pause, then added with false hesitance, "This has never happened before."

"I see." She was suspicious but Caelum remembered her being an excellent Auror. There was a reason why Voldemort decided to personally end her life. Not only was she a formidable politician and Head of the Bones family but she was a powerful witch with a no-nonsense attitude.

He should not alienate her.

"I am sorry for your subordinate," he told her with as much sincerity as he could muster. Waste of life was always bad but the dead Auror's mistake could have cost much more than his own life. If the woman would have decided to go on a killing spree instead of attempting to escape there'd a lot more bodies being levitated out of Courtroom Ten.

"Thank you. Is there anything you'd like to add? If not, please contact the Aurors should you remember something at a later date." She breezed away, her red hair flicking.

"Perhaps we should retire for the hour?" Malfoy suggested, glancing dismissively at the other wizards and witches around them. "It will be some time before the discussion on the bill can commence."

Though a part of him detested forming this close alliance with Malfoy, Caelum had to admit that it could be beneficial in the future. So he nodded and let himself be directed towards the exit. A silent hum filled his mind, reassuring him with the familiar presence. The Emerald.

The mage let out a small sigh and felt the corner of his mouth curl upwards. Then his eyes landed on Albus Dumbledore whose untwinkling eyes were trained on him. Their eyes met and Caelum had to fight to simply blank his face, not show his contempt. He'd aroused the interest of Dumbledore with this little stunt. Now what to do to avoid the man the rest of the day? It would be dangerous to even speak with the man at this point even if his status required him to do so at some point.

That night it was a tired man that Apparated to Australia. He cursed the time difference and arguing wizards and he very nearly sent a curse flying at his Master who did not announce his presence immediately.

"Sorry," Caelum sighed and let the spell dissipate from his palm. He rubbed his temples. His headache was brewing to be quite sizable and he was contemplating on brewing a potion to fix his current condition. "Where's Harry?"

"The kid's out on a run." The curious eyes shifted into that colour of molten lava. "You look dead on your feet. Britain that rough?"

"_British wizards_, as a matter of fact. How's Harry's training?"

"Doesn't the kid tell you every day?"

He levelled a look on his Master who only shrugged, unapologetic. "He's a fast learner. I think it is because no one has yet to corrupt his mind with absolute rules – he's the youngest student I've ever had. He thinks magic can achieve the impossible and does everything I ask of him. And he has patience now that his mind and magic are no longer strained because of the soul piece's corruptive influence. He can actually think things through and he seems very smart."

"I've noticed."

"He can already detect any presence in his head. He's also a very private person which makes it easier to build the walls. He's also become aware of the place where I shut the monstrosity and he asked me about removing it totally." This time he was pierced with yellow eyes.

"The Killing Curse," Caelum sighed. "But I can't guarantee it won't kill him as well. So it's not an option."

"You've encountered this before?"

They settled at the table to wait for Harry when Caelum refused to answer. Had he encountered this before? Not exactly. A horcrux in a living human was not something his Voldemort had ever tried to do. In snakes, sure. But a human? This too seemed rather accidental. Why would the Dark Lord trust a piece of his soul to an infant child he was trying to kill? But exactly how could it even accidentally happen?

Caelum shook his head. He had no answers and no ideas concerning the current Riddle in this world. Trap his spirit but exactly how? He could ward a place and place traps but to trap a spirit weaker than any existing ghost? How would he go about that?

This was much more Severus' area of expertise.

"Caelum! You're back!" Harry's childish voice rang in the house and Caelum turned in his chair just in time to catch the bouncing boy in his arms. He was just about to ask Harry about his day when the boy tensed and started to shake.

"Harry!" The boy went slack in his arms. "Harry!"

_He fainted!_ Caelum realized with a jolt. He whirled away from the table and the Staff materialized between him and the Mind Arts Master. The boy was still breathing, Caelum checked.

"You should let go of the boy. Though I suppose the harm's already done," the older man was surprisingly calm though he eyed the Staff with burning curiosity and apprehension.

"What do you mean?" Caelum forced his voice to remain calm. His eyes had already spied Syl who was making his way towards the Master.

"I mean that he- Ugh-!"

Syl had sprung on the man and wrapped expertly around his throat. The small snake's head was hovering on the level of the yellow eyes and Caelum knew the danger was minimized. He called the Staff to his hand, supporting Harry with the other.

"_Let him anssswer_."

The snake looked at him and hissed dangerously for a while before loosening his body around the man's throat.

"Answer."

His Master coughed and wheezed in a few breaths. "His…He is feeling the… past. Through your clothes."

"My clothes?" Realization dawned on Caelum and he was quick to lay Harry on the floor. "_Sssyl, let the man go._"

"_But…_"

"_Now. He isss not an enemy_."

Disgruntled, the snake slithered down his near victim hissing his displeasure.

"The kid's clairvoyant," the man explained. Caelum could only stare, altering between his Master and the boy lying on the floor. A flick of his wrist had Harry floating in air and he directed him towards a sofa to rest more comfortably.

"Why was I not told?" His voice betrayed his barely restrained anger. His Master flinched.

"Well, the kid wanted to surprise you. And I wanted to ease my curiosity."

"One day that'll get you killed," Caelum muttered while checking Harry for any physical injuries. The boy was resting peacefully and he made sure not to touch him anywhere. Damn. He wasn't affected by the Dementor but the shields did not include his clothing. Did that mean Harry got a full load of the Dementor's influence at close range? Damn it all to Hell!

"Harry?" No response. Well, better to let him wake on his own. Caelum did not know much about clairvoyance. Only that people with that ability could gain information about an object or person simply through touch. No way to shield against it because it did not affect the mind.

_Another difference between us. What could be causing this? Or is it my presence that is already affecting this world? Who knows what being constantly around another version of yourself does to a child's magic? Fuck, Fuck, FUCK! I don't know enough. But I couldn't leave him at the Dursleys either. And now's too late to go back. _

"_YOU!_" he hissed angrily and before his Master could blink the raven-haired haired wizard had him pinned against the wall. "Perhaps some incentive to stop keeping things from me? How about the Cruciatus?"

"Stop, stop! I'm sorry! I… I don't-" The man drew in a shuddering breath. "Please."

Caelum stared into those everchanging eyes for a long moment and finally had to admit that he found no will to harm this man in his heart. He should have known that it would come to this. It was his fault. His fault for not taking into account the frailties of the man he was threatening.

"What is your name?"

"I…" The Mind Arts Master certainly wasn't expecting this. "Walter. Walter Berrigan."

"Good." Caelum let go of him and the man managed not to slump on the floor. "I suggest you leave for a while, Berrigan. I have to make sure Harry's alright."

The mage paid little to no attention to Berrigan as he scrambled out of the house. He didn't care that he'd effectively thrown the owner of the house out of his own home. His thoughts were completely focused on Harry and trying to find a way to fix this. He changed his clothing and sat down to wait for his young ward to wake up.

In the depths of his mind the wizard was already making plans for the possibility Harry would not wake up on his own.

Those plans however proved to be unnecessary three agonizing hours later when Harry finally blinked his eyes open and shuddered. "Caelum?"

"Here. Drink this." He offered the boy a mug of hot chocolate and watched as all of the hot liguid disappeared down the traumatized kid's throat. "Are you feeling better?"

Harry looked up at him, and then suddenly down at his hands that were holding the empty mug. He blushed. "I'm sorry," He sounded crushed.

"Why?"

"I…" The young wizard bit his tongue. "I didn't mean to keep it from you. I wanted to tell you but… This is only the third time it happened and I… err…" He shivered again. "It was _horrible_. I… I heard someone scream and it was_ cold_. I don't… What was it?"

Caelum waited a moment, his currently black eyes searching the familiar green ones. Then he shook his head, assured of the child's sincerity. "Dementors. I told you about them. They suck the happiness out of people and feed on souls. They make us experience our worst fears. I was… unfortunate enough to encounter one today. And your clairvoyance picked up on it."

"Master said that's what it's called. And I saw… I saw you let that…" Harry shivered again.

"You saw me let what?"

"You_ gave _the woman to that _monster!_" Harry spat angrily and immediately snapped his mouth shut, horrified. There was definitely fear shining in his eyes, and also sadness.

Caelum rubbed his chin and grimaced. _Damn_. "It's not… Harry, that woman was a murderer. She'd killed twelve muggles and two Aurors and I caught her when she was trying to escape, after having killed yet another man who was meant to guard her. I know it's horrible, and I don't agree with letting the Dementors feed on people but I try to think of the people that are suffering because of her. And Azkaban. That's Hell on Earth. She may not be reborn now, but neither will she have to face the horrors of the wizarding prison."

"Oh… But! I just… I don't think it's right."

The older wizard couldn't exactly agree with that. The woman had been a threat towards his person. Otherwise he would have let her live. But she had been sentenced and letting her roam free could have potentially endangered Caelum.

"I know. And you have a right to your own opinion." The man crossed his arms. "I have been through things that you cannot imagine, and that makes me see this as the right thing to do. She chose to kill innocent and defenceless people simply because they were being too loud. She chose to break the law that I acknowledge and accept as necessary. In my eyes that makes her deserving of death."

"Because they were too loud…?" From his tone of voice Caelum could tell his ward found that hard to believe. Hell, even he found it hard to believe – and he'd been aware of the wizarding world's prejudice for nearly fifteen years.

"We can talk about this later more. Now, I'd like to know about this clairvoyance. I was not expecting this. You said this was the third time?"

Harry flinched but answered without further pause. "Yeah. The first time was when you disappeared for so long. I saw people and… a cave? Then a couple days back, when you were saying good night, I kind of saw us earlier. Now I saw a room… filled with people. And that- _thing._"

Caelum truly wished there was a book that gave specific instructions on how to deal with this kind of situations. Harry was _so_ _young_. His innocence had not been stolen by his relatives – which was a miracle in itself but made it extremely hard for Caelum to relate to this younger version of himself. He could not imagine himself questioning the death of a murderer at this age. As a ten year old he'd already been _contemplating_ murder, even if he had not fulfilled his secret desires. He wouldn't have blinked twice at the knowledge that a woman who'd killed fifteen people was going to be executed.

But Harry didn't. He thought it was wrong but the older wizard could also see how extremely easy it would be for him to change his young charge's mind, to make him see it from his point of view. That there actually were people who did not deserve to be saved.

_This must be what Dumbledore intended_, Caelum realized sadly. _He wanted him to be easily moulded, ready to accept his first friend's opinions as his own. I didn't offer opinions and now he's had time to see that I'm just human too and, even if he's terrified of it, he can question my opinions. Though I doubt he'd ever accept bullying. _

"Caelum?"

The mage reached out and smoothed the messy hair out of Harry's forehead. The scar had paled noticeably since the sealing of the Horcrux. "Harry… I wish you hadn't had to experience that but I won't lie to you either. It is definitely not the worst thing I've seen and I never claimed to be perfect. But about your ability… I'll try to find us some books and then we'll see what happens, alright? Good news is that I won't be leaving you alone with Berrigan again. I'll stay with you until your Occlumency is satisfying."

The smile brightened Harry's gloomy expression and Caelum smirked in return. Then the boy's brow suddenly furrowed in confusion.

"Who's Berrigan?" Harry asked.

oooOOOooo

The rain was pelting down, wetting the cold land and washing away the remnants of the snow. Slosh covered the tips of his boots as Caelum walked down the street, Harry hurrying on his heels. They both wanted to get inside even if warming spells and impervious charms worked small miracles. Two weeks in this country searching for someone to help with the boy's problematic sensitivity had the older wizard at his patience's end. Now they finally had found the woman and they'd been instructed to her house. At least Harry had been enjoying his time. Even if the two wizards had been concentrating on the search they'd also taken the time to enjoy Japan's tourist attractions. Muggle ones, for obvious reasons. Even if Harry wasn't as famous here as he was in Europe, people still had heard of the lighting shaped scar.

Two weeks since they'd left Berrigan. The end of February was nearing and Caelum was still trying to decide on the right action towards the Mind Arts Master. He knew his secrets were safe with the man but his instincts were warning against leaving him alive - even if he had not been able to find the will to harm the man earlier. But he also had to take into account Harry's feelings on the matter. He knew the boy liked Berrigan, and had been sad to leave after spending almost two months with the man. For a while Caelum had been afraid Harry would want to stay in Australia but that fear had been stupid. Of course the kid came with him.

But the discussion revealing his secrets had brought up new concerns…

_The three settled around the table, Berrigan and Harry both fidgeting restlessly in their seats. It was amazing how much Berrigan had learned to let go of his eccentric persona in Harry and his presence and become very… human-like. Even in his original world Caelum had not become this close with the man. Mostly because he'd been a wreck, clinging to the rips of his sanity and Severus had always been there. Here there was no earlier disposition between them. Berrigan had nothing to teach him and he'd only called the man his Master because of respect. Respect that he'd lost with the man's cursed curiosity._

"_I know you want answers, but first I want you both to swear that you both believe Harry is adequately protected against Legilimency and other Mind Arts. I know Legilimency is not the same as actually reading thoughts but the mere memory of this instance could destroy me."_

"_His mind is protected behind walls that will not wield even under the most tedious and ferocious of attacks. They will hold in sleep and as long as the kid remembers to sort his memories every night he will stay protected." Berrigan grinned at Harry who blushed under the praise. "Plus, I dare say he's got his emotions much better under control."_

_Caelum grinned at Harry who ducked his head sheepishly. "Well, after seven weeks of training I'd expect nothing less."_

"_So it is time for you to honour your end of the bargain. I've taught the boy and now I want the knowledge." Berrigan's eyes were set aglow with curiosity. The mage glanced at Harry and saw the same look in the green gaze, except that the small boy's exceptional eyes also conveyed his insecurity and hope. The older man held that gaze while he began his tale. _

"_I'm sorry, Harry but I cannot actually say that I knew your father." Disappointment overruled the hope momentarily. "Not anymore than you know him, or you will come to know him. I'm from the future of another world." He took a fortifying breath, not letting their eye-contact break. "I'm you."_

_He vaguely registered Berrigan's surprised gasp but he was far too focused on Harry. Bewilderment, disbelief, fear… It was a maelstrom of emotions behind the green gaze. Caelum waited a moment before continuing, "I came here only days before Christmas and decided to stay. That's how I knew you wanted away from Privet Drive. There are differences in comparison to my world but they are not tremendous. We can go into those later." He focused on Berrigan for a moment to give Harry time to sort his thoughts. "You were my Master in that world. I spent six months under your tutelage during which you helped me gather the pieces of my mind. There had been a war and I'd been captured for three months and the torture had very nearly driven me insane. Only… only your and my – lover's efforts helped me regain pieces of my earlier personality." He dragged in a slow breath. "That is how I knew you could help me with Harry. That is how I know you. I've never met _you_, not at any point of time in this world. I've met the alternate version of you in a different world – even if the differences are not that great."_

_He had managed to stun both of his listeners and a heavy silence reigned in the house for a long time. Harry was the one to break it. "You're me… But you look different. How can you be me?"_

"_Sirius Black blood adopted me when I was very young," Caelum explained immediately. "It changed how I look but we still have the same eyes. Look." He waved his hand over his eyes, dispelling the glamour and two pairs of identical green eyes clashed. Harry's widened almost comically, and Caelum suddenly realized that no, their eyes were not identical. Every time he looked into the mirror, he saw the eyes of a tired man, a man who'd lost so much. Harry's eyes still held a speck of innocence that was forever lost to him. But he doubted a ten year old could see much beyond the similar colour._

"_We have our mother's eyes."_

_Harry smiled and Caelum just had to answer that sweet expression with one of his own. But he could tell Harry was finding this very hard to believe. He, however, was not excited about going too deep into his secrets with Berrigan present. A tiny shake of his head warned Harry and the boy shut his already open mouth. Caelum glanced at Berrigan._

"_I do not remember promising to go into too much detail about my secrets. I believe you agree with me when I say you've been adequately paid?"_

_The brown haired man's brow twitched in annoyance. "I suppose you have. I will be entertained for many years now that I know dimensional and long-time time travel are feats possible through magic."_

Caelum's instincts had flared at that and he had had to restrain himself from attacking Berrigan then and there. It was a relief to leave the man the next day to travel to Japan. Neither him or Berrigan could help Harry with his clairvoyance. Caelum had never even heard of a clairvoyant person before, though he knew the theory behind the talent.

Thank Merlin the Gringotts goblins had been able to connect him to a Japanese Master. And now they were finally here, about to be guests of another Master of her Art, one that Caelum knew nothing about. One that could possibly unveil all of his secrets with one touch. But it was for Harry's sake, and he was not going to endanger his ward if there was something that could prevent it.

So he took a hold of Harry's hand, knocked on the door of a rundown building and readied himself for anything.

* * *

A/N: I suppose it's not too much if I ask you to give your thoughts on this... So do review :)


	15. In the Mean Time

Chapter fourteen here for you. Not much happens in this chapter and it actually more shows the development of Harry and Caelum's relationship. Oh, this fic broke the 200 000 hit limit! Thank you for that! Here are a couple of answers on selected questions:**  
**

**Barranca: **Caelum is not clairvoyant. But he has gut feelings that at some points exceed even the boundaries of instinct training would have granted him. He is a mage and very much in touch with his magic. And because of this he has these feelings that he has learned to follow. It is not an ability with a name and not something he can define beyond "I felt like it." One of the mysteries of magic that I as an author am not going to explain away.

**libsrevenge: **Not a crossover. Berrigan is my own creation.

And on to the chapter!

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and no money is made with this.

* * *

OF SHADOW, SHINE AND SHADES by dra6on

Chapter 14. In the Mean Time

"Honestly, I think this was a terrible idea," Harry complained.

"Yeah, you've established that already. Several times." Caelum tried to tone down his irritation but it still came out far more bitingly than he'd intended.

"…"

He nearly never snapped at Harry but there were instances – such as this – when he simply couldn't control himself. He was not accustomed to dealing with children and no matter how mature Harry liked to act, he was still a kid. And now that he was comfortable enough with Caelum he didn't mind letting the mage know his opinion.

Not that it was a bad thing! …Just irritating at times.

"Sorry," the man sighed. Being in this house did not make things easier. "Why don't you go to the kitchen while I try to contain the Darkness a bit better?" He looked down and met the defying glare straight on. He could relate, he really could. Harry was just as unaccustomed to having someone influence his decisions as he was, and Caelum had not laid down any rules concerning their relationship.

As Harry stomped away, Caelum heard him mutter, "How many dark houses do you have to have?"

Was it his fault the Blacks were a decisively Dark family? He had tried to explain everything he could to Harry but obviously he couldn't tell everything. One of Harry's first questions had been whether he was going to have friends or not. What was he supposed to say to that? Explain everything about Ron and Hermione and their faults? Explain that he killed some of his school mates? That he'd seen even more killed before his eyes?

So he'd shrugged and said that he didn't care who Harry made friends with because they were two different persons and he could make his own choices.

And reminded the boy again that, while he was from the past of a different world similar to this one, he did not know the future. His mere presence had already changed things, and there were many worrying differences such as the location of the horcruxes.

A sliver of darkness licked at his boot and Caelum frowned. This was not the malevolent kind that he'd destroyed in the London house. This Dark was almost warm and welcoming and it only wanted to embrace and protect him. He could have given in to the silent calling but the fact that Harry was in the house and the boy was too young for that kind of experience held him from letting go. Because no matter how warm and welcoming this Dark might have felt for him, Dark Magic was always seductive and dangerous. Induced with desires. It could influence an undeveloped magical core if the exposure to it was prolonged.

That's what most Dark families did with their children to make them more receptive to the Dark.

"Retreat," he whispered with a hint of command in his voice and the tentacles made out of pure Darkness pulled away and vanished. He bit his lip, staring down the corridor with indecision pulling at his thoughts. The decision to come to La Tanière d'Ombre was an easy one to make. He wanted to find out the state of his estates and after this only the Black Manor in Wales was left but he was quite certain that was used by Arcturus and Melania at the moment. Cassiopeia and Lucretia had houses of their own that Caelum doubted would return to him at their deaths. He was quite certain that Cassiopeia had even changed her will. Gobteeth had mentioned something about that a while ago when he had finally went to get his identification papers and to inquire about the state of Sirius' case. The papers were perfect – Sirius' case not. The Ministry had put a block on the case and any inquiries led to dead ends.

It frustrated Caelum more than he could say but he could not just go and break the man out. Not when he was responsible for Harry and had no guarantees of his state of mind. He had not known Sirius in his own world but – if the stories were anything to go by – the man was an excellent Auror and the white sheep of the Black family. Was he worth breaking into Azkaban? Caelum did not know. He would have to meet with him and _that _would not be happening in the near future.

The man racked a hand through his hair, pulling at the raven locks at their roots. It was March already and he hadn't been to England in three weeks, last when they'd been in Japan. He had answered a few letters, and sent out a notification that he had some trouble in Australia and would be dealing with that. He'd even bought a couple of airline tickets to give credit to his story – just in case someone was smart enough to wonder how he'd flown under the Ministry's radar. He had contemplated on calling Kreacher to him now that he was in France and within an acceptable range for the ancient house elf to travel. Especially when it had become clear that there were no house elves maintaining the French residence. But he had refrained from doing it – simply because he did not want to burden the elf any more than he had to.

This left reconstructing the mansion to him.

La Tanière d'Ombre had three floors and a basement. The kitchen, the library and the most of the shared living spaces were on the first floor while the upper floors were dedicated to studies and bedrooms. Neither he nor Harry had ventured much to the third floor that seemed to be in the worst condition. It seemed ridiculous that the house would need over twenty bedrooms but perhaps they had been built when keeping in mind visiting quests. The Black family had been quite large, Caelum mused. Once upon a time. Not so much at the moment and Caelum doubted any large family gatherings would be held at the family's French residence very soon.

It was going to be a long undertaking, to clean the place. It would take weeks if he alone worked on the place. He could have gotten someone trained to do the job but, call him paranoid, he did not want anyone he did not trust to enter his houses. He had already sealed Grimmauld Place from everyone but himself and Harry and was going to do the same thing here. As soon as he could decide whether or not purify the Dark left in this place.

Stifling a sigh at the sight of the dark tentacles again reaching towards him, the man turned on his heels and made his way to the kitchen where he knew his young ward and familiars had camped out. He'd isolated the room from the influence of the Dark with power stones even if Syl had no opinion on the matter and Harry was adamant he was strong enough to resist the temptation. Caelum believed him, especially after the strenuous training both Berrigan and Mika-sensei had put the boy through, but the mage was rather safe than sorry.

Even if Harry was now more in control of himself than any other boy his age Caelum had ever known, the kid was still only ten years old. There were mistakes that he was going to make and his estimation of his own powers was vague, to say the least.

But as Harry continuously pointed out, if Caelum only trained him, the man wouldn't have to worry so much.

"Did you finish already?" the kid asked him as soon as he appeared at the doorway to the kitchen. He was sitting at the table, scratching Citala on her belly.

"No. I'm... considering the options."

"We could just leave," Harry continued their earlier discussion. "You said you had money. We could just buy another house that doesn't have inhi- inheri- _inherent _magic."

Weeks ago they had had the money discussion, and while Harry had been disappointed he would not get to access his vault until after his admission to Hogwarts and to know that his Family Mansion had burned to the ground and the money used during the war, he had been accepting about Caelum sharing his money. Especially when the mage had pulled out the few Potter family treasures his money pouch had contained and given them to Harry. He had been carrying a few engagement rings and an earring with protective properties when he'd been pulled to this world. Now the earring adorned Harry's left ear and the rings were around his throat on a chain the kid never took off.

Consequently, Caelum hadn't even mentioned his promise ring without a matching pair. He had tossed it into non-space what now felt like an eternity ago and hadn't looked at it ever again. He didn't want to see it. It only reminded him of the destruction of its pair.

"Yes, but I remember this place being a sanctuary of a kind for me and would like it to be such in the future as well. At the moment we have the London house, and I can't figure out a plausible reason not to live in my supposed father's house when I especially came looking for him from Australia and I did not express such desires earlier. I cannot use you as a reason because no one can find out you're with me." Caelum tapped his fingers impatiently against the table. "There are also other places we need to visit before you have to go to school, and we might need a protected place where no one can find us."

"Yeah, I've heard all this. Mika-sensei said you took paranoia to a whole new level. But then again, she doesn't actually know anything about us." Harry hummed. "Maybe we could get a new house and turn it into a safe place, you know? Then you wouldn't have to restore this place."

"I might be rich but even I can't justify buying a new house and going through the trouble of casting protections on it when there already exists one I can use. Besides, this place has sentimental value to me." His thoughts lingered on Harry's statement about the Japanese Master who he had avoided at all cost during the month they'd spent with her. He'd made sure to use only certain, new, sets of clothes during their visit and never voluntarily had touched the woman. She had been... intrigued – to put it mildly – when she had first found out Caelum's shields repelled any kind of magic. The mage, on the other hand, had been beyond relieved to hear Clairvoyance did not work on him.

"It's not the same house," Harry pointed out, turning his thoughts back to the matter at hand. "I mean, you and me are supposed to be the same but I figure nothing is the same for you in this world. Everything is a little bit different. Like you lived with only Aunt Petunia and Dudley since you were six and you found out about magic on your own when you were nine. I mean, we grew up completely different, so we are different. So this house is different too, right?"

_When the hell did the kid get to be that smart?_ Caelum wondered while smiling proudly at the now nearly blushing boy. It was truly amazing how much Harry had grown, how much he'd come out of his shell. From time to time Caelum was slightly worried Harry might begin to view him as a father figure but he hoped that their relationship would never actually develop into that. Thank Merlin, Harry was independent enough to not actually need or want authority figures in his life. Caelum had managed to present their situation as such that while it was alright for Harry to feel gratitude towards Caelum for introducing him to the wizarding world and magic in general and for taking him away from Privet Drive, the boy did not owe him anything. He did not owe his loyalty, and he did not owe him his obedience.

Caelum was giving him as much options as he could, and so far Harry had made the sensible choices.

"I recognize that your idea has merit. It's good," he specified at seeing the confused look. "But there are things that I want to do, and things that I have to do. Fixing this house is both. So bear with this. We'll be here for a couple of weeks at most and then we're going to China."

"China? What the heck are we going there for?"

Caelum sighed and pulled at the long strands of hair falling before his eyes. "Yeah. I suppose we should talk about that a bit."

oooOOOooo

By the end of March the mansion was shaping up quite nicely. Harry had taken a more positive attitude after Caelum had given him his own room that he could decorate in any way he wanted. After being nearly crushed in a hug the mage had remembered one of his childhood wishes: to have a house of his own – he supposed a room was close enough for Harry – that he could do whatever he wanted with. Where he could put up pictures important to him and proudly display the few possessions he'd had. So while his young ward concentrated on turning the room into "_a nessst of hisss own_" as Syl described it, Caelum could concentrate on the magic of the mansion. And the library.

Oh, the library.

He was on the level of a Master in Potions and Defence Against the Dark Arts (and Dark Arts but that was something no one else needed to know) even if he hadn't actually tested for the Masteries. He had no need for the titles because it was enough that he himself knew the level of his skill. After what he had done in his original world he had been marked as a slightly omnipotent figure and it would have been counterproductive to his desires to let the public relish on his Masteries. Still, there was much he didn't know, much that he had intended to learn during his life with Severus. The two wizards had complemented each other. Together they had been stronger, to use the worn down expression. But Severus was not here, and Caelum was coping and finding the library was helping with that.

He needed to start his life again.

Up until the Wizengamot gathering he'd been simply reacting to things. Thrown into a strange world he'd set out to find some stability but in doing so had ignored some major things. His Staff had changed him and he had not even tried to find out how. That he no longer fit into the basic description of a human wizard – what with jumping four foot in the air and summoning magic back into his core that, by all means, encompassed his entire being behind his shields – had not bothered him too much because he'd already had so much on his plate due to rescuing Harry and securing his position in this world. But things had slowed down now and he had had the chance to stop and consider things. He had never been the bookworm type, not even after the terrors of the war against the Voldemort that had left him trying to find solace in learning. He was a fighter, a leader. His magic had always been more battle oriented and while he could basically master any spell that taught to him, his magic picked up on the battle magics the best.

But now with the strange gift the Emerald had granted him in the form of a perfect memory of his reading even that changed. It had not been his magic that had been compatible with fighting, it had been his mind. And now he was finally accepting the fact that Harry needed him to be something else than a leader or a fighter and he willed himself to learn.

It started with simple things concerning the mansion. He had to get a few books on the restoration spells since his repertoire ended with Reparo, Reficio and Scourgify and after memorizing the books in an hour he'd set to work. After that it had seemed natural to fetch a book on Charms from the library because Harry was getting more and more adamant in his demands to learn magic and Caelum knew he would have to comply with the wish, soon. Especially after the discussion about Voldemort's immortality – where the older wizard had tactically left out any mentions of "soul fragments" or "horcruxes" and implied the objects themselves were binding Voldemort's soul and magic to this level of existence. It was lying and he mentally cringed at doing it but ten was just far too young. The talk about horcruxes and the prophecy would have to wait until the distant future. Just not too distant. And as soon as he checked the latter existed in this world, and the wording hadn't changed.

That, however, would take some scheming and illegal activities.

When the mansion was finally in an acceptable condition and they were leaving for China Caelum had gone through tenth of the books in the library and had Harry started on Ancient Runes and Arithmancy on top of Charms. Normally he wouldn't have even bothered with a subject where he himself had only scraped the surface but who knew the kid had a hell of a head with numbers? And after reading a few books himself on arithmantic applications not related to warding, he was berating himself for ignoring Arithmancy in favour of Care of Magical Creatures in his second year. However, for Hermione to get him to give up on an easy O in Divination and instead work his ass off in Ancient Runes had been a victory for the bushy haired girl.

He had not had time to study the way his friend had, and he'd simply lacked her amazing brain capacity. He'd basically lived and breathed war ever since he was sixteen, except for the few years in between the Second War and the Chaos War. And then he had been picking up pieces of his mind with Severus' assistance.

By delving himself in the new knowledge he supposed he was giving himself a permission to admit his world truly hadn't ended. That there actually was a reason to learn something new because the future held promises. Severus was alive in this world and he would meet the man eventually. He'd cross that bridge when it came to that. He was now concentrating on the horcruxes and Harry and the occasional mail correspondence with various elite members of the British wizarding society and that was enough. He couldn't risk exposure when he was all Harry had at the moment. Later, when the kid was in Hogwarts he could move on the various plans his overactive mind kept coming up with and storing for future use.

One of those plans would involve Sirius. He had explained the situation to Harry but even Gobteeth had had to admit that there was little the goblins could do in that regard. One mention of Black shut the mouths of various officials and unless he wanted to involve himself in an official inquiry – which at the moment was not advisable – getting to Sirius was impossible. He'd tried to get a visiting right but those were not granted without the Minister's explicit permission and Caelum had only glimpsed the blubbering idiot Fudge in a Wizengamot meeting. The idea of referring to _him_ in order to get his right to visit his supposed "brother" was nauseating. He hated the snivelling coward and had to wonder what on earth the people had been thinking, voting him to the position of Minister for Magic. It was no wonder the British foreign relations were all over the place, as Lucius had implied in one of the letters.

Malfoy was another problem he'd have to tackle soon. The man apparently had hopes for them to form and alliance through the family relations. After Sirius and him, Draco was the only currently eligible Black male. Even if the power of Head would befall unused to Bellatrix as the oldest. But as she was childless and imprisoned, the goblins had already been making small preparations to transfer the Black fortune under Malfoy name. Caelum's appearance had changed that and the mage found it very peculiar that instead of carrying a grudge, Lucius seemed intent on assisting him as much as possible.

Caelum was of two minds about that. He still had flashes of torture at the man's hands but – as Harry had so aptly pointed out – this was another version of Lucius. One that had a past of crimes but that had not acted against Caelum in any way. The idea of manipulating Malfoy to his side was interesting but Caelum was not certain he could pull it off. Everything could easily blow in his face and Voldemort would not give up on one of his most useful followers easily.

If the snakeface ever got as far as gaining a body.

"Cal, is there a way for this equation to be fit in the warding one to make it twice as powerful? 'Cause it kind of makes sense."

Harry thrust a Muggle paper filled with neat calculations to him and the mage let his eyes wander over them. He knew most of Harry's talent came from organizing his mind with Occlumency – something Caelum decidedly could _not_ do – but it was still impressive to look over the calculations and think they were ten year old kid's production. He nodded pointing at the common factor. "Here. It would add a flick to the casting and the ward would be slightly more resilient. Like this." He summoned his wand and carefully following the movements put up the ward. "Try pressing against it."

Harry followed the instructions and at the boy's touch the air rippled revealing the perfect hemisphere the ward covered. One finite and the ward vanished, letting Harry freely tumble on the floor as his support vanished. The boy glared at him and Caelum grinned, ignoring the tingling in his chest that the magic returning to him had caused.

"Very funny."

"Constant vigilance." He shrugged unapologetically. "Small things like this teach you to never let your guard down. It'll help save your neck one day. That enough studying for today?"

"_Lisssten to the Massster. He knowsss a thing or two about tumbling._"

Now it was Caelum's turned to glare at the serpent lazily coiled around his left arm. "_Very funny_."

"_Watching the world from a sssnake'sss perssspective can be ussseful at timesss_," Syl hissed before seemingly lulling himself back to sleep. The wizard turned to look at Harry who actually had a pensive look on his face.

"I think yeah… The mansion's ready so we're going to China?"

"In a couple of days. And we need to be careful. It's under the jurisdiction of _Adiafthoros_. At least it was in my world but it's better to be prepared than not."

"What's…? I'm not even going to try to pronounce that."

Caelum raised his brows. "I didn't mention the _Adiafthoros_ before? I think Berrigan called them the Untouchable... They're a group of people living outside magical society. Generally they have muggle occupations but in the magical society they work as assassins. Very few people actually know about them but that does not make their existence any less real."

"Assassins?" He could detect a tone of excitement under the surprise and rolled his eyes at the kid.

"Yeah. As in they kill people. You can get any noble notifications implanted by muggle movies out of your head. They operate outside the law and they kill for money. No noble cause. You could go to them and ask them to kill your family and they'd do it for the right amount of money. They're raised to be killers and regret is unknown to their emotional scale."

Harry deflated and seemed to be giving the idea a bit more thought. "How do you know them?"

He turned his head back to the book before answering. Memories made his stomach churn. "Apophis liked to use their services. That was until I nearly eradicated their community in my search for revenge," he replied in a monotone, knowing Harry got the message: the boy was better off not asking anything more. And while he did return to his book and calculations, it took a while for the heavy atmosphere to dissipate. It wasn't actually until they were in China that Harry was comfortable of bringing up the subject again.

oooOOOooo

Caelum could not help but sneer at the terrible protections countries had around their borders. The magical communities were divided very differently from their Muggle counterparts especially outside Europe and the Americas. That was the reason why Caelum and Harry were forced to cross the borders of several Chinese magical areas in their journey from Shanghai to the heart of the land. Caelum was of the mind of simply Apparating but as Harry was soaking up every bit of knowledge he could get his hands on the mage decided maybe letting the kid make himself familiar with the Chinese culture would not be so bad. And it might be helpful in the future. He still had to scoff at how easy it was to cross other Ministries' jurisdiction with none the wiser. The wards surrounding the countries were usually old, with no updates, and they easily let a couple of individuals slip through as long as Caelum shielded them both. Of course, he was slightly experienced with flying under the radar but he still found it rather pathetic. There were hints of a Dark Lady rising in China and the countries did not even bother to update their wards? His war-oriented mind was troubled at having to accept such a scenario.

They did not even discuss visiting the magical districts of each new country and often Caelum simply refrained even from mentioning they had passed through yet another ward. At least everyone spoke the same language – not that the British wizards had any talent in it.

"Honestly, I think Chinese is the most difficult language in the world," Harry had said after having tried to order chicken three times unsuccessfully. Caelum had simply pointed his choice on the menu and thanked the waiter. His Japanese was better than Mandarin. And he had been able to barely follow half of the conversation during their visit there.

"There are a couple of ways to learn languages quickly but due to the magic they're easy to forget unless you spend a couple of months concentrating on them. Language is knowledge and even magic requires hard work. Otherwise every magician would be a genius and school would be unnecessary. Wit-Sharpening potions can be used but they only offer small help."

"But what Em does for you is completely different." Harry really was using the chopsticks skilfully. One skill he'd picked up in Japan. "I mean you read and remember everything. And I've watched – it's like you just glance at the page and then turn to the next one three seconds later and remember everything."

Nicknames, Caelum supposed, were a way for Harry to identify them as his family. Syl did not shorten and Citala he had yet to manage to shorten to the hawk's approbation. But Cal for Caelum and Em for Emerald certainly send a weird flutter through Caelum's chest. He'd nearly choked the first time Harry had slipped and immediately proceeded to turn beet red but the older wizard had refrained from commenting and now Harry more often than not used the nicknames.

Even if Caelum had first had some trouble with humanizing the Emerald by naming it, he had to admit that Em was infinitively better than _Steffie, _as a variation of Staff. And the Living Emerald had taken a liking to Harry, though Caelum instinctively knew that it never would get as close to Harry as it was to him. From everything he'd managed to gleam from the Emerald he knew it was the only one of its kind in this world. Harry would never become a mage, even if he had the potential to become extremely powerful through other means. And Caelum would make certain the kid never needed to construct the kinds of shields he had.

"Caelum?"

He blinked, surfacing from deep thoughts. It took him a moment to remember that Harry was waiting for a comment. "Yeah, I suppose so. But I'm hardly human anymore. When you have more magic than blood flowing in your veins, the rules change."

Harry's verdant eyes were focusing intently on the food before them and Caelum thought he was done talking when the boy spoke up, "Still… I'm glad it was you that came for me. I can't _imagine_ what it would have been like to stay with the Dursleys…" He grimaced. "Scratch that. I know _exactly_ what it would have been like. I would never have gotten to see the world like this." He swished his chopsticks around, encompassing the restaurant and the busy street. There was noise all around and the atmosphere was bustling. The place was alive and created a startling contrast to the shallow peacefulness of Privet Drive they had grown up in, Caelum noticed.

Harry was smirking at him playfully as he turned to look at him again. "When you're not dragging me to Dark houses and become too lost in your memories, my life couldn't be better."

He heard the silent thank you but Harry returned to eating without saying it aloud. The older wizard had nearly lost his temper when Harry had kept on thanking him profoundly for every small thing. Not getting anything from the Dursleys had certainly made him appreciative of gifts. Having Harry thank him for paying the bill when the kid only had a dozen or so pounds on him was annoying and Caelum had made it known there were some things that Harry should learn to take for granted. Having proper clothing and enough food was not something he should be afraid of being deprived again.

All in all, they formed a weird family. He, Harry, Citala, Syl, Kreacher and Em. Even if Citala seemed put out at having to stay in Europe due the long distances and her dislike of Apparition. (They'd tried – with the result of her nearly pecking out Caelum's eyes.) Syl still stayed most of the time on Caelum either around his arm or neck. But even the ancient snake had taken a liking to the "_little sssnakeling_" and had been guiding the boy in areas he knew about. Harry had three tutors but he didn't seem to mind. His childlike curiosity about magic was catching and Caelum had found himself simply smiling as he tried to memorize the basics when earlier longwinded discussion about theory had not been his forte. He was actually doubting Harry's placement in Gryffindor at this point. Ravenclaw would be his first guess.

"Are you leaving me here tomorrow?"

They were nearing the borders of _Adiafthoros' _area and after a bit of debilitation Caelum was not at all confortable with allowing Harry anywhere near a horcrux. Especially with his clairvoyant abilities that might provide a way for an extremely easy possession. Voldemort in Harry's body was not something the mage was comfortable risking. However, after their rather difficult discussion following the Wizengmot session Caelum had never actually left Harry for long, and the boy had always had Syl and Em with him. Now he would take his Staff because without it he was far too vulnerable on _Adiafthoros' _territory. Syl would stay but it would likely take him hours to retrieve the horcrux. The possibility of it not being there entered his mind yet again but he pushed that thought away. He'd tackle that problem if it ever became reality.

"I think you'll survive. Syl will stay with you." He drummed his fingers nervously against the wooden table top. "Stay in the hotel. The American kids might prove to be interesting."

They were hardly the only tourists in town – as small as it was – and in the rooms across from theirs a family of six was staying for another week. They'd met them yesterday and made some small talk as the only Caucasians around. The family had a daughter and boy about Harry's age. The two others were much younger.

"Maybe."

He could hear the insecurities in Harry's voice and graced him with a supportive smile. He knew this would not be easy but life was not easy and he'd rather risk leaving Harry again than have him harmed due to a horcrux.

So the next morning, as he left the still sleeping boy with only one look behind, it was the warrior that he became. Even in his muggle clothing he noticed the people taking note of the air he carried around him and leaving him alone. His face was an expressionless mask as he finally Apparated deep into the enemy's lair, sliding through the wards.

In his old world this was where Voldemort had hidden the Peverell Ring. Caelum was slightly worried about carrying both of the counterparts on him as he had no idea what would happen. Then again, he and Harry had no problems with existing simultaneously. This comforting thought was in the front of his thoughts as he trekked through the magical woods. The trees loomed over him but even they could feel that he was not someone they could snare into their traps and while eyes followed his every move, no animal was stupid enough to cross his path. The Living Emerald was floating behind him and offered even more protection.

There were no humans around.

He quickly reached his destination; a single boulder in the middle of the forest. The Staff appeared on his open palm and he let the Emerald touch the stone, slowly commanding it to reveal any magic.

There was none.

He heaved a heavy sigh but had to admit defeat one hour later. No horcrux here. Two out of two locations he'd been sure of did not hold a horcrux. That meant everything was far more complicated than he'd wanted to believe.

"Voldemort, diary, ring, locket, cup, Nagini and Negini," he murmured beneath his breath, staring at the boulder. _Though at this point I can't even be certain that the horcruxes are the same. Not with Harry being one. _He shut his eyes, feeling the first hints of a major headache. _And he didn't turn the snakes until after the resurrection. But if I don't have even the slightest idea of where to begin my search for the ring and cup I need some serious help from Lady Luck. I need to check the cave._ He grimaced at the idea of hordes of inferi attacking him but it had to be done. And with the Emerald burning them down would be easier than it had been last time.

"Damn."

There was no magic to obstruct his Apparition and so he appeared on the outskirts of the town just as the clock struck eleven. He'd managed without disturbing the _Adiafthoros_ and he hoped Harry had taken his advice and got into closer contact with people his own age. As he arrived at the hotel, it was to the laughter of children and with a smile he observed his ward sitting down with the American boy and playing check.

The parents noticed him and approached, letting the children freely wander around the lobby area. There really weren't many people here and the owners did not seem to mind. They only looked on with a smile on their faces and Legilimency had allowed Caelum to find out the children reminded them of their own grandchildren. Such a cliché really was possible in real life.

"Mister Miles? Harry told us you were running an errand. Did you only now get back?" The woman, Mina Prescott, sounded slightly disapproving but Harry gave her a charming smile. She was a mother of four children and in her opinion his way of leaving Harry on his own was irresponsible when he only had one child to look after.

"Yes. I was just enjoying the sight. It's not often that Harry gets company of his own age."

They both turned to look at the boys who were now bent over a book, Harry carefully explaining something. Caelum noticed that the book was one of fairy tales he'd given to Harry as a gift when he had realized the kid had read nothing but theory books for weeks. It had no moving pictures so it was safe for muggle children to peruse as well.

"Harry is your only child? May I ask what happened to his mother?"

_This must be what it feels like to have nosy neighbours_, Caelum mused, then backed up on the thought. Their children were playing with Harry so it was a given that they were curious. It did not make them nosy.

"Harry is actually my brother's son," he replied, going by the false story he and Harry had thought up months ago. "I adopted him last December. I had no idea my brother even had had a son until then and I've been travelling the world ever since I was sixteen. My family and I did not get along."

"Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that!" Mina looked at Harry with pity in her eyes, already jumping to conclusion. Evan was the one with the guts to ask.

"I'm sorry if our enquiry has brought up painful memories of loss." Yeah, even Caelum thought he sounded pretentious, and he was used to dealing with centaurs. "We did not mean to pry."

He faked a nonchalant shrug. "It's fine. I'm just glad I could take him in at the moment. He much preferred to come with me than stay with the family of his mother's sister." He nodded at them. "If you'll excuse me, I need to talk to Harry about something."

"Cal!"

The kid flew from his chair and tried to tackle him in a hug but of course he was still far too small to get anything more than a grunt from Caelum. The mage hoisted him up and knew Harry was getting a reading from his clothes and soon a voice asked him, "No luck?"

"No luck. I think I've been going about this completely wrong. I think we ought to check out Egypt again but…" He looked around and smiled at the boy, letting him back down. He ruffled his hair and the green eyes looked up at him curiously. "We'll stay here as long as you like. It's good to take some time for ourselves instead of training meticulously."

"Yeah… I think I'd like that." He was silent for a moment. "Caelum, what is _me-ti-cu… osly?_"

oooOOOooo

The night was silent as he slipped along the long corridor. Passing the Ministry's wards was a simple matter of using the Emerald's magic instead of his own. His shields hid his magic and the wards generally focused on the magical core of a person in detection. It also helped that he could easily see the runes glowing in the surfaces of the wards, allowing him to input his own to created holes in them.

He could make a killing in robbing old Pureblood families.

_Not why I'm here_, he reminded himself. The elevator had taken him down to level nine, to the Department of Mysteries and he was here to finally rid himself of a problem. Months of correspondence with the Ministry had not given him neither access to the Ministry Archives or the Department of Mysteries – not that he had even asked for the latter. It was suspicious but as the Ministry had the right to deny its citizens access, Caelum had decided not to read too much into it. He had already been to Archives and made untraceable changes in their records of his supposed mother. Diana had died when she had but he had drawn a line to a child that to anyone with half brain would accept to be the cause of said death. He supposed the woman would have approved; he was after all protecting her great-nephew.

But now he needed to find out about the prophecy. Was it the same here as it had been in his own. "_The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches ... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies ... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not ... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives ... the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies ..._"

His power had been his resilience towards malicious magic. And his all-defying will to kill Voldemort – the man that had so hurt him. But he did not know if that was the same with Harry. It could be the Horcrux within him, the monstrosity that haunted his dreams. Or something else entirely.

The door opened and he found himself in the round room. With his objective clear in his mind the mage stepped forwards. He had again veiled his face and allowed his true eye colour shine through. They glowed in the dark, casting an eerie green light on any reflective surface.

Caelum strolled forward and allowed the doors to rotate to the right one. No one was present. He would have expected someone to be but then again, today was the First of May. A celebration in most old families and perhaps this was reflected on guard duty. Besides, to reach this point the intruder would have had to – in theory – go through all of the Ministry's guards. Of course, if the intruder was invisible in all possible ways…

He passed the cubicles. The route was familiar to him and it did not take him long at all to reach the Prophecy. Grasping it in his palm, the whispery voice broke out into the silence. Familiar words rolled over him and as the mage replaced the Prophesy sphere on the shelf he did not know whether to be relieved or not.

"Stop where you are and put up your hands. Lay on the floor."

He straightened his back and turned to look behind him. Not that easy to fool, huh? Behind the veil the man grinned, his emerald eyes flashing, before soundlessly vanishing on the spot and leaving three Unspeakables behind without much desired answers.

* * *

A/N: Like I said, the pace picked up but we'll be getting more individual events in the following chapter. I left out Japan because I had not planned anything really important to happen during that time. Many of you were looking forward to seeing the Japanese Master and I'm sorry to disappoint but I might bring her back in the future. She should fit in my plans.

That's it. Don't forget to review!


	16. New Addition

A double update with both of my fics finally getting some attention. There have been lots of reviews and some questions that I'm now going to answer.

**Zana20: **My Caelum is very powerful but not omniscient. He does not know the people in this world and cannot predict their reactions to such massive changes. He wants to stay as low as he can on Dumbledore's radar as long as he can and breaking the Prophecy or doing some changes to it would definitely bring attention to the fact that someone knew about it and _someone_ is willing to challenge the Fates. So far Dumbledore only knows he took Harry but not anything about his reasons or his origins. This fic is not one where everything that Caelum plans goes smoothly. Dumbledore is a mighty opponent and the mage knows that and tries to be careful - with varying success. I also thought about doing a Prophesy about Caelum but then realized that for my plans of a possible sequel it would not make any sense as the Prophesy would warn about a new force that challenges the rules of the world and it does not fit into my plans. Hopefully that answered your questions :)

**TachanGyu:** No the assassin did not kill Severus. Apophis did but the assassins did something else that varranted an extreme reaction.

**lilyoftheval5, cookiefan57: **I think its about preference. I find it somewhat reduntant that most of the fanfiction focuses on Britain only and rarely crosses the borders. Reading about the possible magical uses in other countries shows the writers' imagination and most of my Harry Potter fics - even unpublished ones - are more international than British. But there is only Egypt left and then we go to British soil for a while. And Harry will make a friend.

**RRW: **Caelum does not know Rita Screeter - at least I don't remember writing him knowing her. And who's to say that the Ministry wouldn't simply act fast and cover their tracks and have Sirius Kissed before he can stand trial? Caelum cannot risk it and he does not have proof. I think I wrote in some earlier chapter that Caelum did not have any knowledge of Wormtail's movement before the rat surfaced with Voldemort so no, he doesn't know he is Ron's pet rat. That doesn't mean Caelum won't find out...

**Kalieapap:** Sorry but any revelation will have to wait for a while. Concerning the first year's DADA situation... I have a plan but I'm not telling XD Yet.

And before we commence with the unbetaed chapter... I announce to my patient readers that one **Severus Snape** will make an appearance in the next chapter. Not in this one but the next, and there-on will be making regular appearances. Thank you for waiting. It only took us 18 months to get to this point :)

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and no money is made with this.

* * *

**Be warned: **Implied paedophilia

* * *

OF SHADOW, SHINE AND SHADES by dra6on

Chapter 15. New Addition

Egypt was hot.

This was Harry's first and foremost opinion of the country. It was hot. There was a lot of sand and interesting things in Alexandria but it was damn hot.

Or it had been until Caelum had realized to cast Cooling Charms on all of his clothes but even those could not stop Harry from feeling that it _should _be hot.

He loved the city. It was so lively and there were so many people there. So different from the silence of Privet Drive and the Australian wastelands. He had come to know many different ways people interacted in their travels these past few months and it was all so interesting, so different from before. He barely remembered the cupboard anymore, or what it felt like to be hungry. He had never even dared to dream about getting to see Japan and China and now he was in Egypt, getting to know the magical side of things.

He _adored_ the different little magics that Caelum took to teaching him. And few times Caelum had purposely taken him to places where his touch could let him know so much. They'd gone to the Graeco-Roman Museum and Harry had gotten his first taste of what _feeling _history was like. He'd watched glimpses of past that glided over his eyes and had felt such respect that he'd thought only Caelum could make him feel.

Caelum. His pseudo parent had spent a couple of days in the desert but then had seemed to give up on trying to find these artefacts Voldemort was using to stay alive. The man did not know where they were and – to Harry's great relief – had decided starting from scratch was not worth it. Not when there were only four months left before September.

They talked a lot nowadays. Harry knew Caelum wanted to know his opinion and it didn't matter to the man if it was different from his. Actually, he seemed to encourage him like that. _There were no rules_. At the Dursleys' rules had been everything and at Berrigan's he'd also had to follow certain rules. But with Caelum it was as if the man didn't care what he did as long as he stayed _sensible_. Because the _trusted _Harry.

That idea still made Harry's heart beat with gratitude, even after all these months.

He knew Caelum wasn't perfect. The man sometimes sneered at people in a way that told Harry exactly what he thought of the people but he never acted on his dislike. Unlike Vernon – that the wizard had called "whale" in the conversations they'd had of their past. Harry knew something very different had happened when Caelum had been six and _Vernon had been sent to prison_ but the wizard had not wanted speak about it anymore. He'd said it was in the past and it would stay there. Harry hated the look that sometimes took over Caelum's now black eyes. It was as if the usual warmth was sucked up into some deep corner of the man's soul and all that was left was a hard man, ready to make the worst decisions. That was how Mika-sensei had described it.

But sometimes Caelum would become almost playful.

"We'll be doing what?"

"You remember Albus, right? Well, the Weasleys are close with him and one of their sons is in town, working on the curses on a pyramid close by. I thought we could make an appearance. Just to spite the old coot."

The thought of the white bearded man sending spells at him and Caelum flashed through Harry's mind but he tried to swallow his nervousness. What he'd read about Albus Dumbledore did not put him at ease either. "Wasn't he quite powerful? Grand Sorcerer? Chief Warlock of British Ministry of Magic? Supreme Mugwump of the ICW?"

Caelum was looking through his collection of potions. Harry had actually helped him with those and gained a crash course in potion making at the same time. It had been nice, though he like Arithmancy and Charms much more. The wizard seemed to find what he was looking for, judging by the victorious "A-HA!" and chunked down a vile-looking purple concoction. When he looked at Harry the boy was met with the sight of familiar green eyes. Their real eyes.

"Hmm? Yeah, he's all that but I'm more powerful. And on a more serious note I think it's important to give him something about your general state of health." The wizard shook his head, long black hair swishing over his shoulders. "Merlin knows I don't like the man but there's no predicting what he might do if he believes you're dead."

Huh. Harry hadn't thought about it like that. It didn't mean he was instantly supportive.

"So you want to… what? March up to this guy and make me dance pirouettes before him while flashing my scar?" He made it sound as dubious as he could. Caelum rolled his eyes at him.

"Your sarcastic streak is getting stronger. No. I want to show you a pyramid, let you _feel _its history and at the same time we can make sure William "Bill" Weasley reports back home that he'd come across Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived. And it'll be good for you to acknowledge your fame for once. It might become overwhelming at Hogwarts otherwise."

Truth be told, Harry had nearly forgotten that. He knew that he was the Boy Who Lived and he knew some of what Caelum had gone through because of that but it was so easy to forget when neither Caelum nor Syl seemed to care at all. Mika-sensei had not even recognized him so until now it was only the Healer in Sydney that had taken any notice of his scar and known of his status. He really didn't like the idea of standing out in crowd.

"What's he like?" He might as well find out about this man as they made their way down the stairs of their lodging. Caelum never wanted to Apparate from the house because it would raise questions if anyone noticed them returning before they'd ever even seemingly left the rooms. It was easy to disappear on the streets.

"Bill? He's the Weasleys' oldest son. Brilliant with curses and goblins. A very powerful wizard in his own right. We were good friends, and he lived through the wars. He married a part Veela."

Try as he might to remember, Harry had no idea what a "veela" was. Caelum explained without asking, "A kind of fey. They are extremely beautiful and their aura enthrals men, and some women. Your Occlumency prevents it from working but male people around you would begin sprouting the most obscene lies, trying to gain the Veela's attention. They are also capable of transformation. They bring a whole new dimension to the saying 'Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.'" The man stopped and, taking a hold of the boy's chin and meeting his eyes, pushed an image through Harry's Occlumency shields. It was of a beautiful blonde woman that turned into a fire controlling bird monster. Harry felt his eyes widen, and the man smirked. "He was a brave man for marrying one of Veela blood. But there's no guarantee this Bill is the same, as you so often keep pointing out."

Ten minutes later they abandoned the scorching hot sand in favour of the coolness of stone tombs. There were a couple of people milling about, all in wizarding robes and Caelum had again covered his face with the black veil he'd been using when they'd met for the first time. It didn't look so out of place here, and the wizards would not question his looks. It was also important to make a lasting impression, Caelum had told him when Harry had asked about it.

The man looked a bit intimidating in it. They were both clad in muggle clothes but not in a way that immediately screamed outsider, Harry now knew. They had boots and Caelum had leather pants and a white shirt topped with a belt with a silver dragon buckle. Harry had on him straight trousers and a white long sleeved shirt to protect his skin from the glare of the sun. He was pleasantly cool because of the Cooling Charms and actually excited about having the opportunity to look into the history of the pyramid, even if it was a secondary goal.

"There are standard Muggle repelling wards around here but also one that distorts vision. Everyone thinks there is only sand until you get close enough. Wizards get through, Muggles turn away remembering they had something else to do. There are also some goblin wards that I recognize but can't explain."

"You see them?" He looked up at the man, only to see his eyes glued on something in the horizon. He got a distracted nod.

"Similar to Gringotts but still different. The runes are quite beautiful. Slightly different from the runes humans use."

Harry turned to the stone wall before him and lay his hand against it, palm down. He opened his mind the way Mika-sensei had taught him "-_the power is inside, the will comes from the mind. Open the mind and the power will follow_-" and let his consciousness skim over the impressions left in the stone "-_every time is different from the other. It can be overwhelming, or you might not even see. But the object will talk if it so wishes_-" of the ancient pyramid.

The first he felt was… sand. And dust. He felt like spitting just to get the taste out of his mouth. The feeling filled his entire being. Sand and dust. Hands on him. Putting him here. Figures moving past him, fingers pushing over his surface. Voices. Words he didn't recognize.

"Hey, kid, you alright?"

He flinched as a hand landed on his shoulder and quickly ducked away from the touch. He still only liked to be touched by Caelum and other people made him slightly nervous. But when he looked up, it was only a young man with long red hair and an earring on the same ear as Harry had. He kind of reminded him of Caelum, actually.

"Sorry. I was just… looking."

The blue eyes had a friendly look as the red head looked him over. From the description earlier Harry guessed this must have been Bill Weasley and he brushed his hair aside, letting his scar stay visible for a few seconds before smoothing his fringe over it yet again. From the widening of eyes he knew his identity had been revealed and that was when Caelum made his appearance.

"Harry." It was spoken in that same whispery voice the man had used with Dumbledore and it certainly made Caelum seem more mysterious. Harry had to hide a smirk as the red head jumped in surprise.

"Hey Cal. Finished with the wards?" This was actually pretty fun.

"Yes. Do you want to go deeper?" His eyes left Harry's and flickered over to the Weasley man that simply stood there staring at them. "Excuse me, are you one of the wizards working on the curses? Could we bother you to show us around?"

The blue eyes blinked and the man's mouth formed into a silent "oh" as he took in the menacing figure Caelum made. Harry's snickering broke the man out of his stupor a minute later.

"I'm really sorry, Mister…?"

"Caleb."

"Mister Caleb. I'm just… Sorry for asking but… are you Harry Potter?" the eyes were looking at him curiously and at his nod, they widened yet again.

"It's a pleasure to meet you." His hand was shaken and after exchanging a couple of words with Caelum the three wizards descended into the depths of the pyramid. One inconspicuous wave of hand removed the Cooling Charms from Harry's clothing at the first shiver.

"I've only been assigned here for a couple of weeks but even in that time we managed to discover one new chamber. It's slightly gruesome so it might be better we don't go that way. Plus, at this stage there can still be some curses we simply have not triggered yet."

He was letting his fingers skim over the rough surface of stones. His ears could pick up on echoes of the past but nothing understandable. Caelum was giving the Weasley all of his attention. It made Harry feel a little left out, to be honest. He scolded himself for that thought. Caelum paid him enough attention as it was, and he wanted more? He was turning into Dudley!

That thought made him shiver and green eyes glanced at him worriedly. He mouthed, "_I'm fine._" A small nod, and Caelum turned back to their tour guide. Harry smiled and let his fingers resume the skimming. He was far from being a copy of Dudley Dursley.

oooOOOooo

"-and this here tomb has been proclaimed safe. Feel free to look around. The sarcophagus is for a minor royalty, one who never got anywhere near the royal seat, and that is why the place is so plain. Very few artefacts were removed," Bill explained in a voice that told of his excitement and interest in the work he was doing. This was clearly the read head's true calling. He'd ended in the same job in two different worlds, what other proof did Caelum need to verify that claim?

"Very interesting indeed, Mr Weasley." It was also certainly amusing how the man seemed to tense every time Caelum said anything in his whispery voice, and it was clearly affecting the man. Funny, he'd always thought Charlie was the only one with his preferences in the clan of read heads… Well, it wasn't as though he would act on any signs of lust anyone would feel towards him.

"_Caelum? Are we going to move sssoon?"_

Hearing the silent hiss he answered in the same language, _"What do you feel?"_

The boy was looking around, a little despondent if nothing else. "_They ssspeak Egyptian or whatever the language isss. Can't make out headsss or tailsss._" Their soft hissing did not raise any suspicions and Caelum made sure Bill did not notice in between his explanation of the hieroglyphs on the wall. Harry was quite disappointed. He must have been expecting something much more exciting. At least in the museums he'd heard several interesting conversations the walls and artefacts had recorded for an interested Clairvoyant to listen to in modern ages. But of course Harry didn't speak Arabic.

They were on their way back to the surface when Bill finally approached the elephant in the room.

"I'm sorry for being this curious… but what is the Boy Who Lived doing in Egypt of all places?"

Harry replied right away, as it was him the questions was directed to. "My Muggle relatives signed me off to Cal last December. They were happy to see me go, and I've been with Cal since then."

"Oh." The blue eyes narrowed momentarily. "And you, Mr Caleb? The Ministry and Dumbledore chose you especially to take care of him? The few Death Eaters still at large must pose a danger, after all."

He smiled beneath the veil. He knew his eyes were reflecting his power without the muting power of the potion and that he made quite an imposing picture. Also, the silent question of his talents was hard to avoid. But to lie or not?

"Hmm. Albus Dumbledore and the Ministry had very little to do with the choosing." But they did have something to do with it; they'd created the circumstances necessary for the adoption, after all. "But I think it has benefitted Harry to learn of magical culture before Hogwarts."

"Yeah," Harry put in innocently. "My relatives never told me anything about magic. Until Cal told me about my parents and the war, I'd thought they'd died in a drunken driving accident." He was no longer touching the walls and concentrated his attention on the adults entirely.

"What?" Shock was the most prominent but as a Weasley the man knew depriving a child of his heritage was one of the most heinous crimes in pureblood society. That the Boy Who Lived, their Saviour, had grown up without any knowledge of his own people would ruffle some feathers all right. Caelum hid a smirk at the thought as they finally reached the ground floor and stepped out into the sun. The heat was on them immediately and he put up the Cooling Charms right away, not wasting any more time than necessary.

"You're telling me you didn't know about Magic until a couple of months ago? Like a Muggleborn?"

Harry kept up the conversation as Caelum let his eyes again drift over to where the sand met the wards. The sight was useful at all times but he had not expected the strong desire to study the magic so blatantly on display – at least to him – when he'd been wallowing in self pity not long ago.

"Sorry to interrupt, but I think we need to be getting back. This was just a stopping point on our trip. Come, Harry."

"Bye, Bill! It was nice talking to you." Harry grinned at the red head who seemed a bit overwhelmed with the information overload he'd received this morning and Caelum let himself feel well-deserved satisfaction at the accomplishment as he Apparated them to an alley close their hotel. Bill would certainly inform his parents who in turn might bring it up with Albus the next time they met, Caelum mused while unveiling his face. He didn't really care enough about what the old codger might get up to in Harry's absence but at least this way there was a possibility of the knowledge of Harry's wellbeing reaching the aged sorcerer. Best way would be to contact the Flamels but while Nicolas had become a good friend in the other world, Caelum knew he was not ready to divulge his secret to anyone else at this point.

Best case scenario: only Harry and Severus would ever know the full truth. And Berrigan he'd deal with in some way.

"What are we going to do today? Some magical spots? The Library? I read about it in the book you got me. The Muggles don't know it exists, right?"

"Hmm. Oh, yeah. It was hidden and the fire was staged. There was too much magical knowledge mingled with the history and it was too powerful for non-magical humans to handle. The priests made a decision and I suppose that was the starting point of the exclusion of Muggles from magical society. The International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy did not come to effect until in 1692 but it had been a long time coming. After the establishment of Christian religion especially, as their reaction to magic was extreme." It was quite weird how innocent questions could evolve into small history lessons now that Caelum had the knowledge from his reading. He was turning into Hermione.

Surely not.

"So are we?"

There it was again. He whipped his head around and this time, instead of disappearing like on so many previous instances, the magic remained. It was old. And it was moving.

"Harry, find something to do. Take Syl with you. I need to check something."

He left the alley, leaving Harry to his own devices. The boy was smart, and he had no reason to feel the small twinge of guilt at the expression on the boy's face. But his gut told him that finding more about this ancient magic was important and he had learned to trust his instincts through the hard way. Harry was resilient and letting the boy out from under his wing would do the boy good. He was not going to mother him.

This magic, this presence, had been all over the city. Caelum had glimpsed it earlier and its unique nature had picked his interest. He did not think he'd ever faced its kind before, and if this indeed was some kind of being only native to this world it was better to find out about it now rather than later. He might end up waging another war and knowing of possible allies was always a bonus.

There were a lot of people on the streets, some tourists, some the habitants of the town and judging by the skilful way the presence navigated the streets Caelum put it in the same category with the latter. He could not exactly see it, per say, but he could feel the shimmering remnants of magic on every spot the being had vacated. He'd been amazed that Harry had not picked up on it yet.

The crowd thinned out slightly and he finally saw what it was he was tracking.

A small girl, not much older than Harry. Her every movement spoke of nervousness and she was clutching her package with two hands. Black hair and fragile features. But the magic told of something else hidden behind the outer charade.

Since the girl seemed to know exactly where she was going, Caelum decided not to intercept her before he knew better what made her so nervous. Someone with that kind of magic should not have been so easy to follow but he managed to track her through the town without her having an inkling of being followed. When she finally disappeared behind a dark fabric covering a doorway at the edges of town Caelum was of two minds. Either she had chosen to live like this or she was hiding from someone. But he still wanted to know _what _she _was_.

With one thought he'd summoned the Cloak of Invisibility from non-space and wrapped it around his body. He did not even cast a shadow on the ground as he crossed the street. One well aimed gust of wind later and the mage was inside the stone building.

No one was in the first room and it was filled with… well, junk. The tables were littered with different kinds of gadgets, watches, rocks, tools… It was like walking into a badly cleaned second-hand store. There were even some clothes on the back of a broken-legged chair. But Caelum could feel the remnants of the peculiar magic all over the place. This was where the girl obviously lived, or at least spent a lot of time at.

A gruff voice barked something in a language Caelum did not recognize immediately, though he suspected it to be Arabic. He slowly made his way towards the back of the room where it seemed to make a turn and change into another room. The girl's soft voice answered in the same language and the magic began to fluctuate in a way that had Caelum raising his brows. It seemed as though the magic was being encompassed into a smaller and smaller size. It stopped when the mage estimate the size to be around his fist. He peeked around the corner.

A man was sitting at the table and Caelum immediately distrusted him. There was nothing about him that especially pointed to untrustworthiness. He had the beard that so many men in this part of world left unshaved and was wearing the long shirt that Caelum dubbed as the traditional Egyptian clothing. The top of his head was covered by a skullcap, Caelum believed it was called. His face was lengthened by the beard and the brown eyes were quite vapid.

Caelum finally abandoned his inspection of the man and looked around more carefully than just scanning for immediate danger. It was a kitchen/bedroom. One bed.

_Where does the girl sleep? _He noticed something much more alarming. _Where IS the girl?_

The house only had two rooms and there was no leaving the kitchen. He would have heard the girl use the window as there were many glass bottles arranged on the window sill. He let his eyes focus on the magic in the room and immediately his eyes zeroed in on one of the bottle on the sill. To his eyes it was faintly glowing indigo blue and he could now feel the encompassed magic of the girl practically radiating from it.

The man leaned against the wall and wondered. A Genie in a bottle? Honestly? A Genie? A being so powerful even gods feared them as the wishes they granted could affect the highest of beings?

He'd stumbled upon a Genie?

But looking around the man felt most of his excitement evaporate. A Genie was most and first of all a slave to their owner. Once the three wishes were up, they were locked in their bottle until a new owner came by and released them. There was no wishing for freedom and no happy endings for them. The text Caelum had read said it was the ultimate prize powerful magicians paid for their power. Magic itself condemned them to slavery. While looks could be deceiving, the mage had a hard time imagining the girl having been a power hungry witch who knew how many years ago.

What was her story? Did he care enough to find out? His instincts said yes. So steal the bottle while the man wasn't looking? He wasn't magical, though obviously knew of magic and might come looking for his slave. The mage nearly scoffed. Good luck finding them.

He silenced his movements and walked to the window. A closer inspection revealed the bottle to be a true master piece. The green glass was decorated with silver and amethysts and they formed a series of protective and binding runes. He nearly touched it before giving himself a mental slap in the face and thinking again. A touch could qualify as a rub and the girl would be forced out in the open. Instead he silently levitated it and then conjured an exact lookalike in its stead. The man was so immersed in the contents of the bag the girl had delivered that he never looked up as his precious Genie in a bottle was levitated out of his reach.

Caelum paused in the front room to consider his options. He might have wanted Syl to be there as the snake was old enough to be in the same age group with the girl and he might know about Genies in general. The theft itself did not bother Caelum at all but he wanted to have his first talk with the girl without Harry. While the kid was smart, it was an unnecessary risk to introduce him to the Genie right away. Apparition? He glanced at the floating bottle. Non-space?

Deciding to risk it he sent the bottle away and Disapparated, reappearing in the middle of the desert. Summoning the bottle right away he levitated it on the sand before him.

Small sparks of childlike curiosity made his magic tingle. Yes, he could certainly understand Voldemort's obsession with knowledge. The feeling of accomplishment and the satisfaction at holding something others didn't. He didn't know whether Genies were common in this world but in his they were a mere myth passed down from ancient times. The gods had supposedly killed all representatives of that race in their jealousy as soon as they had appeared.

Was this girl an anomaly? Caelum leaned down and ran his hand carefully over the runes. He quickly stepped back.

The cork vanished and a brilliant beam of pure light exited the bottle. The peculiar magic washed over Caelum but he kept his shields in place and did not let it touch him. Slowly the light gathered over the bottle and took the form of the girl from earlier. She looked exactly the same, up to the clothes.

_So no belly-dancer outfits. Thank Merlin._

The purple eyes looked upon him with something akin to shock. But it was quickly hidden behind a masterful mask of indifference. Even while looking around, the eyes never left Caelum. The mage simply stared for a moment, waiting for the girl talk first. There was nothing but sand to look at except for him so he guessed right in thinking he wouldn't have to wait for long.

"You have summoned a Genie." Her voice echoed with power and it might have impressed many but not Caelum. What was interesting was the change from earlier. Her voice had been soft then, not filled with this fear-instilling power. Additionally, the girl seemed surprised about something. Language, perhaps? It took her a moment to continue, "You have three wishes of your choosing that this Genie shall grant you. I greet you, Master." She brought her hands together and bowed slightly.

Caelum's mind had been coming up with plans ever since he'd become aware of this being's true nature. A powerful Genie?

"My first and only wish is for you to follow the orders I specifically give to you."

It might have been fear that flashed through her eyes but she bowed nonetheless. "Your wish is my command, Master."

Caelum felt her magic reach out and try to gauge his own out in the open. He let his magic drip out through his shields.

The Genie's magic ran through it, familiarized it and retreated back to the girl. She looked curious but stayed silent in her hunched position. She was so clearly deferring to him that Caelum felt sick. He knew he needed to neutralize her power and the wish had thus been necessary.

"Is the bottle important to you? I mean, can you exist without being in contact with it?"

She cocked her head. "As long as you are in possession of it, you are my Master and my power is bound to you. The power of the wishes does not diminish even if I am not in contact with my bottle."

"Good." He waved his hand at the bottle and it vanished in non-space. Where it would stay until he figured out where his gut feelings had got him this time. Looking at the girl he studied her more closely than earlier. Her features were fragile. _Delicate flower, _he thought, noticing the violet eyes yet again. They were striking and he knew many women would kill for eyes like hers. Even her dirty clothing and smears of dirt on her face did not diminish the beauty she naturally possessed. As soon as she grew up she'd be a heartbreaker. Except that Genies did not grow up.

"What are your orders, Master?"

Nervous? Because of his staring? The mage nodded to himself but refused to considered the worst case scenarios his mind kept coming up with.

"What is your name?"

She blinked, straightening for a moment before bowing her neck again. "I am but a slave, Master. You may call me whatever you desire." Dark locks hid her eyes from sight, and so Caelum couldn't see her reaction to his next words,

"Yes. But once you were a girl. And you had a family. And that family called you by a name that I now would in turn like to call you with. Call it common courtesy."

Her entire body stilled, as though Caelum had cast the Petrificulus Totalus on her. Caelum noticed for the first time that the Sun did not affect her. He could feel its glare against his spells and charms but she was detached. She was made of magic and earthly powers did not affect her. The power of a Genie.

"I do not remember my name."

Her voice had reverted back to the soft one he'd heard at the house. He immediately thought of a way to find out.

"I order you to tell me your birth name, the name your mother called you as she tucked you in for the night. As she sang nursery rhymes. I order you to tell me your name."

She tensed and her head snapped up. The violet eyes were open wide. "Zahra Yasmeen." She gasped. "My name is Zahra Yasmeen."

The mask was back in place as she looked him into eyes again. He smiled, and it was a genuine smile that had the girl staring in wonder. "I am honoured to meet a being such as yourself, Zahra Yasmeen." He swept down into a formal bow that he'd earlier used before Ragnok. Her power deserved it. "I also order you to never call me Master. I stole your bottle because I felt leaving it in the hands of a Muggle was worse than committing a crime of theft.

"You must know that I am a mage. I have no need for a Genie with wish-granting powers." He smirked at the look on her face and finally straightened from his bow. "Are you capable of leaving me and living your life?"

She stared. The violet eyes were as wide as saucers and the pure disbelief reflected in them might have been comical if not for the trembling of her hands. She was scared. She was overwhelmed. The idea of freedom was too much for her and Caelum watched as her eyes told the story of a crumbling hope. He did not know how old Zahra Yasmeen was, nor did he know what she had been through in her life. _This must be one of those hero-complex instances that Severus complained about. Do I really have a desire to save people I don't even know?_

He thought that over. _No. I've seen too much death and I've abandoned my home for this new one. But seeing a being as magnificent as her shackled under the ire of a mere Muggle is revolting. How long has she been a slave?_

"I cannot leave my Master unless ordered to. I… I wouldn't know what to do? You wish to abandon me to the desert without my bottle?"

She was just perfectly pleading, appealing to his conscience. He'd been practically married to a Slytherin so the performance only got her a bored look. The teary-eyed look shifted into narrowed eyes. She was impressed.

"You are powerful. Truly powerful." The power was back in her voice. "And you offer me freedom? I cannot leave you until the wishes are granted and yet you claimed the obedience to be your first and only wish. That means I am bound to you until your death – as my bottle seems to have vanished even from my senses. A feat I thought impossible."

"How old are you?" Now they were getting somewhere.

She smiled. "I was born before the carpenter came and created a new religion. I only had three Masters in my youth though." She had a faraway look in her eyes and Caelum quickly did the math. Over two thousand years as a Genie. What was it with this world that ancient beings seemed to gravitate towards him?

"The last one hid me after he'd used his wishes. He wanted no other to find me and use my power. I wasn't discovered until in the 18th century and I changed hands many times. I was a riveted secret in their circle. Until I was buried with the latest Master. The man you stole me from robbed his grave by accident and discovered me." She shivered despite the high temperature.

"I order you not to lie to me, Zahra. Is everything you told me true?"

"Yes."

"How did you become a Genie?"

She cocked her head again. It was a very bird like gesture. "I wandered too far from our home. A man with magic discovered me and when I refused to assist him he put a curse on me. He apparently was a god of some kind and he turned me into a Genie so that I would have to serve others until the end of Time."

"A man cursed you?" He was fascinated. The stories of Genies were so different from his world. Again, he put down a mental note to check for Genie related literature. Perhaps in the Library of Alexandria once he found the time he knew he would end up be spending in there.

"A god."

The way the man saw this situation was that he had again trounced in when he should have simply let it go. Now he had a Genie to take care of as well. Thousands of years old Genie that he would have to introduce to Harry. Knowing Zahra followed his orders was only slightly comforting as the girl carried a heavy weight with her. History would not let itself be erased if Caelum did not do something.

"Zahra?" He remembered the shiver, knew what it might went. With his history sometimes it simply stood out. He thanked Merlin and whatever gods still existed that Harry and his past differed in this way but he knew even with the confident talk Zahra had been hurt.

And while she was old, she had been young when the curse had touched her. She had been a child. And her body was that of a child's.

"Yes."

"Did the man touch you? Force you?"

The sudden tenseness was nearly imperceptible but it was there. Shadows began creeping over Caelum's thoughts. Past that wouldn't erase itself.

"It is in my nature to do what my Master wishes from me." Her voice was toneless.

"I see."

He offered his hand to Zahra and Apparated them to town. Carrying a Genie's magic through Apparition was a new experience but Caelum hardly noticed. His mind was already too far gone in the darkness that he carried within him.

* * *

A/N: Hmm... You might have to wait a bit longer this time for a update. I'm readying myself to moving to Scotland and am a nerve wreck with the applications for SAAS and support from my country and signing my first ever lease agreement. So, we'll see. In the mean time, _review_.


	17. Shadowed Thoughts

So a month it has been and now I have you the next chapter. I'm not promising quick updates because lately my muse has been directing me towards my original work and not fanfiction but I still have some chapters written for this and I'll publish those when I can.

On another matter, I moved to Scotland and am having some difficulties understanding the thickest accent but I get by. Fortunately you can get used to listening to it and I'll probably be speaking in the same manner in a short time what with my tendency to absorb accents.

And there has been lots of reviews. I'm not singling anyone out this time, just know all that every review warms my heart and brightens my day. And to the questions I asnwer that 1; Caelum's past will be revealed in due time and 2; I indeed do have plans for Zahra in the future.

Now, the chapter:

* * *

**Be warned: **gruesome deaths, dark elements

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and no money is made with this.

* * *

OF SHADOW, SHINE AND SHADES by dra6on

Chapter 16. Shadowed Thoughts

The crispness of the night air failed to touch Caelum as he prowled the streets of Alexandria. His magic was swirling right beyond his shields and he knew without looking that his eyes were glowing with it. One word had been enough to send him out on the streets that only the stars and the waning crescent's light illuminated.

The idea of killing sixteen men should have horrified him, the mage knew. But the idea was fuel to the abyss of shadows he had collected in the deepest corners of his mind. They demanded blood now that his more noble side had found a way to justify killing these men. More blood would stain his hands but he found it very difficult to care. He was teetering on the brink of something very familiar and found it almost easy to let go. The darkness surrounded his thoughts.

The midnight was drawing closer and the lights on the windows cast shadows on the streets. They played around his feet but there was no true sustenance to these shadows. They had no life, unlike the darkest shadows licking at the edges of his thoughts.

There was a light on the window of his destination. A shady, dirty light that reflected the state of the house's atmosphere. Loud noises could be heard all the way to the street through the pitiful flap that acted the role of a door. He did not know the words but he could recognize anger and fear in the men's tone of voice. They had lost their slave and they feared for their secret – emotions ran high.

The claymore he'd relieved from the Black vault jumped to his hand. His shadows demanded blood, and blood they would get. He wanted no magical law enforcement after him so it was better for the Muggles to dub this as a the gruesome killing spree it truly was rather than a series of unexplainable deaths that the Killing Curse would make it look like.

He paused behind the fabric. Four men. He only knew the faces so hearing their voices did not help. Stepping into the room his magic automatically put up a privacy ward. All noise cut off in the inside as the four men stared at the stranger with a sword that had walked right into their midst.

_One. Two. Three. Four. Twelve left._

His body fell into the familiar stance the goblins had drilled his muscles to accept. The sword's magic stayed docile as he forced his own to stay behind his shields. His blazing green eyes scanned the room for any movement and when finally one of the men opened his mouth, the mage moved.

The claymore flashed in the light of the oil lamp and blood sprayed over the three alive members of the quartet. The dead man gurgled, his hands going to his stomach where his intestines where falling on the dirty floor. The fingers slipped over the bloody organs and his knees gave out. The look of astonishment would be forever carved on his dead features.

The blazing green eyes turned on the remaining men, their power already ripping into their minds looking for the location of the remaining victims. A sadistic smile curved on his lips as the dark killer found what he was looking for and let his grip on the victims' minds loosen. The sword flashed again and a decapitated head smacked against the once white wall.

The screaming began.

The two remaining men tried to get away only for the first one to fall to a stab in the back. Caelum weighed the weapon in his hand. It fit himsurprisingly well and responded to him immediately. Sometimes it took a while for a magical weapon to accept its new master but he was a Black and the sword was forged for them. It had slept in the vault, waiting for a time it would be used again. A sword was used for killing humans, not to hunt animals. This sword had slept and calmed its bloodlust but now it had awoken. It was a perfect weapon for killing. Even if he did specialize in staffs.

The last man had reached kitchen before Caelum caught up with him. He was grovelling on the ground, begging in Arabic, tears streaming down his face. The wizard wanted to wish him well in Hell but kept his mouth shut and thrust the sword through the blackened heart. On his way out of the house he dispelled the conjuration of the bottle. No one would know magic had been involved.

The fifth man he dropped off the balcony of his house after piercing his brains through the eye socket. He was long dead by the time his body hit the dirt of the street.

The sixth and seventh man he discovered in a port house. They never left the place alive. The screams of the women echoed in his ears as he left the place behind, undetected by all and any.

The eighth, ninth and tenth man had been home with their families. He'd crept silently into their houses and slashed their throats open without any fuzz. Even if they deserved to die, their families did not deserve to face the shame. And Zahra had been a secret to these men. A secret they had not easily shared with others. She'd changed hands many times, even if his first victim had been her true master, in possession of her bottle. They'd all taken the time to enjoy her and her powers. But the families did not need to know that. Ignorance _was _bliss.

Eleventh man was out in a restaurant. Caelum stayed beneath his Cloak, waiting for the moment to strike. Watching the man for an hour, watching him eat, laugh and drink coffee like any normal person had forced him to doubt his justification but the darkness had easily smothered the feeble attempts of forgiveness he was grasping at. He was not Dumbledore. Some deeds were unforgivable.

The man died in the bathroom. Caelum cut through half of his neck and left while the blood was still pooling on the tiles, the head hanging to the body by the flaps of skin.

He hated red.

The twelfth man never woke up from sleep. The thirteenth on the other hand screamed like murder. Which it was.

Caelum caught a sight of his reflection of a store's window and paused in his hunt. His white shirt had small dark spots scattered on it and he had not bothered to clean the claymore even once. The once gleaming steel blade was now coated in red and the wizard's eyes were blazing with power and magic through the gap on his veiled face. He looked dangerous and deadly. A side of himself he had not seen since the battlefields.

It was quite good that the Muggles were so ignorant. One simple spell and everyone walked past him.

The three remaining were not in Alexandria. Tracking them down proved to be more difficult than he'd expected and the horizon was lighting up by the time he made it back to the hotel. Harry and Zahra were waiting.

oooOOOooo

He took a shower first. Vanished the clothes, cleaned the sword. That was before he even let Harry see him. He knew his two charges were together but he had given strict orders to Zahra concerning Harry. He knew the boy was alright, and after tonight even Zahra would be more right.

As the hot water cascaded down his back, washing away the blood, the make-up, the grime and the sweat, the mage had to wonder about his sanity.

Was he further gone than he even realized?

The entire bathroom was quickly bathed in green light as the Emerald appeared from non-space. He barely gave it a sideways glance, his mind too occupied with that one thought. He'd taken another person under his wing when he was not even equipped to care for the first one. He would end up poisoning Harry with his darkness, if the horcrux did not do it first. He was a Dark Wizard with the power to kill gods and his mind was this great maelstrom of anxiety.

True, he had not broken down. Not since he'd lost it at Voldermort's headquarters. Neither could Apophis get to his mind because it was the one thing he had best shielded. But what good were the shields if the problem lay within? He processed things on so many levels, and remaining a feeling human being was harder without a focusing point. Severus. He needed to figure out his lover's past in this world.

"Caelum?"

He nearly scowled at the door but the man knew he should not take out his rotten mood on Harry. Calling out he stepped out of the shower and regarded his reflection on the mirror. The green light made his tattoos sparkle and gleam and it disgusted him to cover his face again. Harry had seen them, and he had not really cared about hiding them in France but Zahra… He grimaced at the thought of sharing one of his greatest secrets with someone he had only met yesterday.

"This would be so much easier if I could only glamour them away," he grumbled at the floating Staff that had again shortened to only a foot's length. With evident resignation he summoned the jar of cover-up and set to work. He and Severus had spent three weeks working on the best way to cover his markings as soon as it had become clear Caelum couldn't stand showing them to other people. He had had an anxiety attack even at the thought.

So Sev had fetched a fifty different kinds of muggle cover-up and they'd set out to find the perfect formula. In the end they had managed and not only did the cover last for three days, the repetitive Sticking Charms and Finites made certain the remnants of the spell made it stay on his face through every weather.

"You haven't drowned yourself, have you, mage?" Zahra's composed voice drifted through the door. Caelum did not reply, simply checked his face, neck and hand and magicked some clothes on him. Hardened green eyes stared back from the mirror before he turned his back on the reflection and opened the door to his bedroom.

Both Zahra and Harry were there. Harry was sitting on the bed, the blue spread grumbled beneath his legs. Zahra had chosen a chair and had pulled her legs up and wrapped her arms around them. She looked oddly defensive in that position, as though trying to keep herself together. Even through their more serious talk the man had not managed to gauge a proper reaction out of her and he had to wonder whether this was part of her act as well. He bought time by walking to the window and pulling the curtains shut. The room was cast in the green light of the Emerald before he snapped his fingers, turning the electric lights on.

"Are you okay?"

Harry. Was he? "There are things that I know I must do, things that I know I should not allow to have an effect on myself," he replied with a shrug, taking a seat on the bed as well. It was comforting to know Harry did not flinch away from him even though Zahra must have told him what he had been up to this night.

"Did you get them all?" the girl in question asked, her voice betraying her satisfaction. Caelum nodded, keeping his eyes on Harry so he could not miss the darkening of his expression. The air turned heavier.

"Will they take you to prison?"

He supposed Harry deserved some answers. And he had promised to tell him the fullest truth he could. So the man shook his head, and said, "They do not know it was me. They cannot even connect it to a magical person."

"So they won't take you away?" The boy seemed relieved when Caelum simply shook his head. Zahra snorted on the background but Caelum had a much bigger commitment for the boy next to him than the girl his instincts had told him to save so he ignored her. He noticed the glare Harry sent her, though.

"_You truly are almossst too much for a sssnake to handle_," Syl whispered from where he was curled around Harry's throat. Caelum had neglected his presence earlier but let his eyes meet those of his familiar. "_You leave me with your sssnakeling and then bring home a Genie. And then you go on a murder ssspree for her. I do not underssstand your intentionsss._" Even Harry looked intrigued.

Caelum extended his hand and the snake abandoned his earlier perch in favour of his arm. The man raised him before his eyes. "_Sssometimesss we know what we mussst do. I do not claim to be a perfect warrior of the Light. I am a Dark Wizard, you sssilly ssserpent. I found a reassson to kill thossse men and ssso I did. I do not regret it, and it doesss not affect usss._" His eyes flickered over to Harry only to find the boy lost in his thoughts. If he was honest with himself he had expected accusations, had expect being forced to justify his actions to Harry. It was clear Zahra could not understand Parseltongue but neither was he comfortable posing such personal questions before the snake. He would ask them once they were alone.

"Will you kill the Dursleys, too?"

Harry had managed to surprise him but Caelum only blinked and paused for a moment. "…Not without your permission." No lies.

The familiar green eyes widened in surprise. Then they clouded over. "Would you have killed the men if she had told you not to?"

"No," he answered almost immediately, turning his attention to Zahra and directing his next words mostly to her. "She knows she's as much to blame as I am. I killed them because they deserved it, and because if I had not they would not have ever had to face any consequences. But I did it for her, and their blood is on her hands as much as it's on mine."

"…She's not really a kid, right?"

Now they were both regarding the girl and she scowled at them over her knees but did not say anything. Still deferential, and her magic had sensed the likeness between the two. She had even asked if Harry was his son and had blatantly refused to believe him when Caelum had denied it.

"I am not. But I thought I made it clear earlier." She smiled coolly. Harry narrowed his eyes and glared at her again. _Children. _By the way Syl hissed out a laugh, the snake was thinking the same.

"So what now? She's going to stay with us?"

"For now." Caelum regarded Zahra and she endure his scrutiny patiently. She did not even twitch. "Through the bottle I am her Master even though I have no inclination of using my power over her. Other than making sure she does not harm us or try to expose us."

Harry visibly wanted to protest but held his tongue after one hard look from Caleum.

"May I have a question?" She continued at Caelum's nod, "Who are you really?"

"I am Caelum Orion Black, Head of the House of Black. This is my ward, Harry James Potter. He is somewhat famous among the wizarding folk and no one except for the goblins know that I have custody over him. Though the word might have spread at this point."

"Famous?" She was looking at Harry as though the boy was a slightly interesting bug. Not worth much of her attention.

"Actually, Harry survived the Killing Curse when he was fifteen months old."

The dark eyebrows shot up. "I thought that was instant death sentence? No shield against it? What did he do? What did _you_ do?"

"Why do you think Caelum did something? He wasn't even around then!" Harry sounded bemused, and offended.

"He wasn't? I thought he was your father, or maybe a brother? Your eyes are the exact same shade of green."

"That's because-" Harry shut up and shot Caelum a suffering glance. _Why did you have to save her?_ his eyes accusingly asked him. Caelum hid a smile and took on a serious expression.

"There are some secrets that we will not trust you with yet, Zahra. Perhaps in the future. At the moment you are welcome to stay with me and Harry and live with us." The Emerald sparkled. "I do not require anything of you, simply know that I saved you trusting my instincts and as such am responsible of you."

"You are my Master," she overly simplified, shrugging. Caelum nearly groaned.

"No, you silly girl. I am not your Master, just as I am not Harry's or Syl's or Kreacher's Master. We form a different kind of group with different power levels and my age and power give me some say in things. But I do not decide things without explaining them as much as I can. The fact simply is that I have far more experience than them, possibly even more than you if what you said about spending centuries alone is true."

"You simply want me to come along? Because you feel that is the right thing to do?" Caelum could easily tell what her thoughts on this were. She thought he was a fool.

He thought she was a bigger fool for not simply accepting his apparent generosity and keeping her thoughts to herself. Did she want to go back to the bottle and possibly be discovered by people just as uncaring as the men who had used her earlier had been? So far he had not done anything to her and only acted on her behalf yet she was not showing any gratefullness. She definitely lacked cunning and foresight. Good thing he had the perfect excuse to move things along.

"We're leaving. Tomorrow. To France. You and Harry can stay in my house while I deal with a meeting in England two weeks from now. Consider it a test period, if you like."

The next day they Apparated back to the La Taniére d'Ombre and settled in. Zahra was quiet and reserved and her violet eyes continued to observe her surroundings with alarming alertness. It was as if she kept waiting for the other shoe to drop when Caelum revealed himself to be a monster that collected children and ate them in the quiet of the night.

Even Harry had noticed the distrust that the Genie showed towards them and it was affecting the way the boy behaved. He wasn't used to dealing with unknown people from gods know where with a suspicious attitude and he became quiet and slightly withdrawn. Caelum tried to figure out a way to ease the Genie into their lives because that was what his instincts were telling him to do but there was no easy way of doing it. Especially not when Zahra did not want to be included.

Perhaps he was just being too subtle.

"Can I come in?" Caelum asked after knocking on the Genie's door and waited for an answer. After getting it he opened the door and stepped in, closing it after him. Zahra was sitting on her bed, her legs pulled up and a suspicious look on her face. The same look that had not let off for a second during her stay with Caelum and Harry.

"I thought we could talk about things. Mainly about why you're acting like this." He leaned against the door frame, not liking the way he was blocking the exit but aware that he had to force Zahra to talk and make her see things this way.

Her eyes narrowed but she did not answer. Caelum sighed.

"Okay. First of all, you are with us and we are not going to harm you. You are a quest at the moment and I think it's a great improvement on your earlier situation. I could just dumb your bottle somewhere and be done with it but I'm not going to do it. For some reason I think you're supposed to stay with us but we can't live together if you're not at least willing to try." He paused. "Think about it. Even if it is only about supposedly deceiving us with a more pliable front, you have to give us a chance and let us prove ourselves to you."

He waited while the girl mulled over his words and then nodded very slowly. At least she had listened.

"The other thing is about your powers."

Caelum immediately regretted asking the question when Zahra tensed and closed off entirely but he had to know. "I still have two wishes left. I could use those – right?"

The Genie's purple eyes were again narrowed to slits but she answered, "If I don't have a master to serve I'm forced into the bottle until another comes and summons me."

"Do the wishes have any regulations with them? You know," the wizard waved his hand, "rules that cannot be broken?" The Genies in his world had had those but he had to be sure they were the same.

"There are three…" She paused to stare at Caelum before continuing, "First is that true love cannot be wished into existence. Just as magic cannot achieve it, I cannot. Second is not to kill. One life has enormous potential and taking a life damages the soul. I cannot do that for my master, and the second rule also coincides with the third one – not to go against the Fates who rule over all that which is within magic."

Caelum's eye brows had kept climbing higher and higher while Zahra spoke and his hope began to diminish. Well, it would have been too easy that way. "So, if I were to ask you to kill Voldemort…?" She shook her head. "To tell me the location of his soul pieces-" This caused a shudder. "-or to tell me what the horcruxes are…?" Zahra wrapped her arms around herself and Caelum fell silent.

"Breaking the rules two and three," the Genie whispered. "_I can't._"

oooOOOooo

"Caelum, what a pleasure it is to see you again."

The blonde man gripped his hand and they exchanged a warm handshake. Next Caelum got to kiss Narcissa Malfoy's cheek and comment on her dress robes. He had hoped this would be a simple Spring meeting for the governors but now it seemed inevitable that he would be subjected to his _family_ yet again. Fortunately that would only follow after hours of dull discussion on the school's current affairs.

Fortunately… yeah right. He had been far too much around Syl and Harry. Sarcasm would be dripping from his ears if he did not put a stop to this soon.

"The mansion is truly a welcome sight to my eyes", his sweet tongue replied to the pleasantries. "I have never noticed how much the outback of Australia can wear one down."

"I hope your business has been concluded for the time being." Malfoy was guiding him towards the same room they had held the meeting in last time. Lady of the house had disappeared with an excuse of checking on the house elves' progress on dinner and Caelum kept his eyes on his host. His Sight was picking up on the most interesting flashes of magic and he could not allow his attention to waver from the Dark Wizard with him. He had… _a feeling_.

"Almost. Thank the goddesses I do not need to return to Australia for the time being. I found some of the company… most lacking."

"Whatever do you mean."

The tone was only slightly mocking but Caelum had the horrible sense that they were actually _making friends. Getting comfortable with each other. Sharing._ The thought disgusted him but he reminded himself of Harry's words: this was not the Malfoy he knew. This one could have redeeming qualities. The fact he had never participated in torturing Caelum should be redeeming enough. But how could he judge so easily? Not a week ago he had brutally murdered sixteen men and he still could not feel any regret at the fact. At least he had tried to make it as quick as his anger had allowed.

The silence had gone on for far too long and he knew Malfoy needed no verbal answer and simply smirked, receiving one in return.

"This time you are the first one to arrive. Excuse my rudeness but I have to return to the floo. I really cannot trust the elves with this." He rolled his eyes and left Caelum alone in the meeting room. He took a seat in the same recliner he had used last time he had been in this situation.

As time stretched on the worry he felt became more prominent. Harry and Zahra were alone in La Taniére d'Ombre and he had no way of reaching them. He knew Zahra was forced to heed his commands because of the wish but the Genie had been alive for thousands of years and leaving him alone with Harry was another decision Caelum might come to regret. Whatever happened, he was also aware that there was a point to which Harry listened to him but cross that line and the kid could become dangerously stubborn. When he had suggested he shut Zahra in her bottle for the time being Harry had had one of his temper tantrums that had Caelum wondering whether or not the kid was approaching puberty a bit early.

On the other hand, it was relieving to know the boy was not afraid to speak his mind.

And Syl was there. The snake certainly had experience to sort through the problems two children could cook up in a couple of hours.

Then again, he was only a snake…

What was he going to do with Zahra? He damned his instincts and he damned the Genie and everything that came with her. She complicated things. She disrupted his plans. How would he explain her? He could not tell of her true power as people would come for her and try to control her. She did not deserve it, not after her life.

Caelum sighed and sank into the softness of the recliner. He stared at the visible Black family ring and heaved another heavy sigh. Would she even want to? Would she want to have a normal life if he offered it? So far they were on shaky ground and the girl trusted neither him nor Harry. Him less because he held her bottle and Harry still held that speck of innocence that made him right endearing. It was quite difficult for Zahra to outright refuse Harry, Caelum had noticed. And the kid had made an effort to tolerate this other presence that disrupted their family, especially after Zahra settled down after their talk.

Zahra was not a child but she chose to look like it because it had been her body's age when she had been cursed. And Caelum seriously doubted how much the Genie had matured under the servitude of her masters. She sometimes acted as a petulant child might and at times she was wise beyond her years. Caelum could relate. Harry could understand to the extent his ten years of experience in the Dursley household allowed.

At least the kid had not yet found out about the extent of the Genie's suffering. Caelum did not want to have that discussion but it was inevitable. So many things had become inevitable and he simply waited for the time to pass. So many things to talk about with Harry but the kid needed to mature.

_Perhaps I should write a letter. I really have no guarantee that I will stay in this world. Say I vanquish Voldemort? Am I propelled back to Teddy and Mione, Andy and Mike? I have no idea of what is going to happen and if something does happen I would leave Harry hanging. I need to make sure he can own his life without Dumbledore immediately seizing control. Put that on the to-do list._

He rolled the ring around his thumb as a shiver ran through him. The family magic was agitated but he supposed it was normal. They were in the family home of someone Caelum perceived to be a possible enemy. His agitation must have transferred to the magic uniting all of the Blacks.

_But Zahra… What am I going to do about her? What can I do about millennia old Genie? Maybe…_ His eyes were drifted back to the ring. _Doable. Might be possible. I just have to… _

The door opened without warning and that idea was stored away for further pondering. The witches on the Board came through the door being escorted by an elf. Caelum did a double take at seeing Dobby but kept his composure and got to his feet, bowing to the women. "Ladies. You are a pleasurable sight to tired eyes."

Suzanne Little actually blushed at the compliment while the two others regarded him with thinly veiled suspicion. Huh. "It is a joy to see you again, Mister Black." Eliza Plumpton took the lead and settled on her chosen recliner. Caelum made sure to sit down only after the witches had arranged their robes appropriately. He wondered whether it was possible to feel approval in the portraits' magic.

"It truly is! Tell me, Mister Black, how have you been? It has been too long since I've seen you. Certainly not since that horrible Wizengamot incident."

That had made the front page of Prophet even if it had not been the main story. Fudge obviously had some sway with the newspaper. "News" in a relative context.

"I was unfortunately called to Australia to settle some family emergency that had arisen quite unexpectedly. These last few weeks I have spent in France."

"France you say? The Blacks' country mansion?" Noira LaFolle knew what she was talking about and was clearly intrigued. "My father has spoken of the place. He visited it in his youth."

"The place truly is marvellous," Caelum admitted, with a wistful smile on his face. "So much history, I cannot even begin to explain it. I am truly grateful to be a part of a family with such long roots."

"The Blacks have always been respected," Suzanne Little intercepted neutrally. Caelum knew all of their thoughts were cast away to the most recent history of the family. Death, murder, Dark Arts… The room in the London house was only the tip of the iceberg with the Blacks. Caelum knew of the history but it did not mean he wanted it thrown in his face from a near total stranger, no matter how subtle the reminder was.

"Blacks always have been in a position of power." His eyes flashed intensely at Little while the two others' attention was focused on the door. The woman froze for a second and her nostril flared in fear. Then the moment passed and Caelum turned to greet the rest of the governors.

"The Defence teacher will again be replaced. The woman will not even risk it." Clearwater shook his head in dismay but did not volunteer any further opinions.

"Then I believe I have some good news that Dumbledor relied to me two days ago," Penrose smugly informed them. He waited until everyone was paying close attention and declared, "Quirinius Quirrell will be returning to Hogwarts and will accept the post of Hogwarts Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher."

_Oh, merde._

While Caelum was having an "oh shit"-moment the rest were quite clearly intrigued by the idea. And Penrose was not finished. "What better, he will be observing the lessons for the last month of semester so that the transition is as smooth as ever. I believe he arrived back to England at the end of May."

"His trip was a success?" Rupert Williamson seemed surprised.

"Headmaster assures me he will be capable of handling the job."

Caelum realized he probably should comment somehow. This frozen shock like state was unusual and would prompt questioning should anyone notice his state. He cleared his throat.

"Excuse me but who exactly is this Quirinius Quirrell?"

A moment's silence and Malfoy answered him, "He used to be the Muggle Studies Professor." Caelum found it amazing someone could sneer in that manner and still form coherent words. "He is a young man of average strength who last year took a sabbatical to ready himself for the Defence post." The sneer deepened but no further explanation was forthcoming.

"He is a capable man with high NEWTs in the subject?" Caelum supposed this was something he should be concentrating on. Instead of wondering how easiest to kill the tumbling weakling that had allowed Voldemort's sweet promises to enslave him to servitude. Behind his shields the magic whirled in anger and in glee. His enemy was coming closer and with his approach, so did their final encounter.

"At least we know the man can teach. With the curse some of our teachers have truly been disgustingly incompetent."

"Oh, Nolan. Do not speak of that. It is one the most controversial topics. The curse has never even been proven to exist!" Suzanne Little scolded the aged wizard that only scowled in response. Caelum interrupted before their argument could develop further.

"I had read of this in my research to familiarize myself with the school but I paid it little attention. It is true? There is a curse that forces wizards to quit after a year?"

"It is not as much a curse as it is a rumour," Norman Waffling smoothly intercut. "I am certain the Headmaster would have discovered the source had there been one. It began as a consequence and has turned into a self-fulfilling curse. Everyone believes that something will happen so it will."

"Please." Noira LaFolle sounded exasperated. "I do not know why Dumbledore has not rid the school of it but the curse does exist. Over thirty teachers and none of them lasted for over a year. Even consequence can be stretched so far before another reason must be searched for."

"I notice you are quite divided on this question," Caelum attempted to mollify the situation. He was getting over his shock and parts of his mind were already dedicated to planning his next attack. Move in the spring or in the autumn when Voldemort more likely was going to be with him? Could he trust any of his memories from his original world?

_Later_, he admonished himself.

"Yes, it is a long time issue and a stain on Hogwarts' record. Even if we have tried to maintain some level in the choosing of instructors it is the Headmaster that makes the choice. We can at most recommend someone and I am afraid the significant drop in DADA OWLs and NEWTs has been noted in the academic circles." No one seemed particularly happy at that. Finally Penrose broke the silence.

"Let us hope Quirrell will be up to the job. At least with the month's initiation he will not be completely unprepared."

The meeting moved on to budgetary decisions. Hogwarts was an expensive school to attend and while Caelum had noted the sums in passing in his old world he now had to wonder. Of course purebloods paid less, the admittance fee getting cut in half for every other sibling that attended. That was what had saved the Weasleys from turning to home schooling or the Brighton School of Magic. There was also one other in Wales but they were decidedly smaller than Hogwarts. There was one school for magic in Ireland as well.

Nearly all of the Muggleborns were attempted to be introduced to the magical world through Hogwarts because solid education ensured they did not expose the world of magic. Every untrained Muggleborn posed a risk of exposure and it was the only reason the purebloods had been forced to admit them into their world. They could not just kill them – though many wanted and attempted – but they also guarded the Secrecy of their world. There was no other option that they had been able to think of and the fees were not that horrible on the general British scale. There were scholarships that were to assist those Muggleborns with no money to attend. The difference between the sums was explained by the Muggle seclusion of tax paying – not their discrimination against the Muggleborns – and it was also the reason Hogwarts paid a heavy tax to the government. After the food expenses and salaries and equipment cost not much was left over and that went into the Hogwarts fund that was to be used in emergencies. Only the Hogwarts Headmaster could access the fund.

It all was familiar to Caelum and he easily slipped into his Deputy Headmaster persona. There were no raises in salaries and the budget stayed about the same as the previous years. It was still horribly time consuming and it was very close to the agreed dinner time that the other governors finally took their leave, leaving Caelum and Malfoy standing before the Floo. Dobby appeared before them and the mage had to again curb in his surprise. It did not help that that one memory of a drunken Dobby and bunnies kept popping up in his head.

"Missus tells Dobby to tell Masters is being waited in the dining room."

Malfoy completely ignored the small creature turning to his quest instead and with his gesturing Caelum turned towards the room where yet another confrontation with his "family" awaited. He squared his shoulders and straightened his back before the door that he knew led into yet another confrontation with the Black family elders.

The doors opened and the two men strolled inside only to be frozen by the sight.

"Lucius! He's having a heart failure!"

Narcissa was crouched down on the floor next to Arcturus Black whose hands were clawing at his chest. Cassiopeia was surprisingly absent but Melania and Lucretia were both frozen in their chairs, expressions full of disbelief and shock. Caelum's eyes took this in in a fraction of a second until instinct took over. He heard Narcissa call for Lucius to floo the St. Mungos. He had no experience in heart conditions but he was good with magic and the family magic was telling him the old man would not last even a minute.

"_Move_."

His power pressed against the witch casting diagnostic spells and she flinched away. The family magic swirled to the front and Caelum placed his hands over the heart that was failing and the head that would soon be lacking oxygen. His shields faltered before his command and magic poured into his great-grandfather of this world.

A frown marred his features as Caelum worked. Arcturus kept shaking and there was only so much the mage could do. The old man's entire body was covered with old Dark Magic wounds and they were stirring with the nearing death. Caelum was not a Healer and his meagre abilities in that area consisted of battle wounds and direct magic channelling. The family magic was helping him, flowing through Arcturus' familiar channels. This man had once been the Head of the family and now his life was slipping through Caelum's fingers.

His magic wanted to attack the Darkness of the old wounds. It wanted to rip it right out in the open and dominate it. Caelum held back with all the strain he could muster from himself. This was not a fight. If he turned it into a battle of magics he would lose and Arcturus would die.

The seconds trickled by and the old man kept slipping further and further. Caelum's magic and the family magic were all that was keeping the heart beating but the mage knew there was nothing else to be done.

He heaved a sigh and opened his eyes just as Lucius burst through the door with three Healers. All eyes focused on him and he shook his head, letting his hands fall off the still body.

Arcturus Black was dead.

Caelum forced his legs to move him from the crouch he had descended into in his hurry to help the old wizard. He staggered a couple of steps coming finally to lean against the oak table as the magic returned to him bringing with it the echoes of Arcturus' pains. He shivered as his heart hammered against his chest and was only minimally aware of the Healers rushing to his supposed grandfather's side. He exhaled loudly. Magic sharing was dangerous and intense and he would be feeling the side effects for days. And still the man died.

Pulling out a chair the mage let his aching body unceremoniously fall into it and pushed his head back.

That was when a very familiar presence entered his range of senses and his head snapped back up right when the Potions Master of the Hogwarts School of Wizardry entered the room his robes billowing in his wake. The familiar black eyes scanned the room, quickly coming up to date with the situation and eventually locked with Caelum's.

It was a good thing he was sitting already because his legs would have certainly given out under the intense stare.

* * *

A/N: Sorry it took so long for Severus to appear! More of him in the next chapter. I'm not cruel enough to simply leave it at that and jump to the events in France – though I admit I was tempted… :D


	18. Before His Eyes

Hello! Sorry about the long wait but the last few weeks have been consumed by my uni work. Today was the deadline for the last essay and now I have three weeks until the next is due so I thought I'd dedicate some time for fanfiction and my faithful readers who have kept asking after my stories. So this is Of Shadow, Shine and Shades updated and yes, you get a bit more about Severus in this chapter and in the future chapters. I think he will be featuring in most chapters from now on.

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and no money is made with this.

* * *

OF SHADOW, SHINE AND SHADES by dra6on

Chapter 17. Before His Eyes

In the end Caelum had not expected their meeting to be so sudden. He had been surprised when their paths had crossed in Diagon Alley but he had not even considered he might not control the circumstances of their next meeting. Then the git pops up right when Arcturus dies and Caelum found himself frozen on the spot and his eyes glued on the tall and lanky profile. He could not even shake himself out of his stupor as he was far too overcome by it.

His robes were black – as always. Caelum had never seen his lover wear another colour and the mage had to admit that the threateningly billowing garment was as much a part of Severus Snape as his wand. These robes were of good material but not as good as Caelum was used to seeing. His eyes travelled upwards, pausing at the hands. The right one was holding a familiar wand; ash, thirteen and half inches, dragon heartstring core. He had seen that wand in action so many times that the mere sight of it being held made his heart lurch uncomfortably. Whether it had slashed across their enemies or spun delicate webs of healing magic over his overexerted body, he _knew that wand_. He knew that wand better than the hands that held it for these lacked so many of the miniscule scars that Caelum had not even known he expected to see. There should have been a scratch mark from Crookshanks' claws across the back of the left hand and a burn mark on the middle finger of left hand from when he had tackled his lover into the fading embers of the fireplace. They _should _have been there.

_No. Not on this Sev. This is not mine, not the one I know. Not the one that knows me_, the shocked man admonished himself and finally allowed his eyes to drink in the face of his dead lover. Except this was not how he was supposed to look.

The body was the same, the clothes and the wand were so familiar. But the face, the face screamed this to be a different person. How could he not have noticed it in Diagon Alley? Had he been this blind? The skin was sallow and pale to the point it was sickly looking. The black hair – Sev's perfect hair for running fingers through – was full of grease and hang limply on the shoulders, flattened against the skull. There was no scar running across the left eye. He was so _young_.

Except for the eyes. The eyes that were just as black as those Caelum remembered but did not soften with the familiar emotion as they stared back at him. They were the eyes of a weary man, of a suspicious man. Of a man who undoubtedly was beginning to question Caelum's sanity as he stayed frozen on the spot and stared without shame.

"Your arrival is as punctual as always, Severus," Lucius greeted. His hand swept over the room. "However, as you see, the meeting should be rescheduled. Unfortunately Mister Arcturus Black has just suffered a heart failure."

The words might have seemed cruel but they were enough to shake Caelum out of his shock. He stood up, and stepped closer to the Healers letting his attention seemingly leave the man in the doorway. In truth his entire body had lit up the moment the other wizard had entered and he was hyperaware of the other's position. He could not shut away his reaction but hoped it did not show.

"Excuse me, sir? You used direct channelling to Heal him?"

It was one of the arrivals from St. Mungos and his robes declared him to be a Senior Healer. He stared expectantly at Caelum who, after a moment's thought, nodded slowly. "Yes. I am Caelum Black, Head of the Black family. That is… _was_ my grandfather Arcturus Black. I attempted to keep him stable until you arrived but the nearness of death stirred the old wounds and his life could not bear the strain."

"Have you been trained as a Healer?"

He was not certain whether the man was accusing him or complementing him. He was also nearly unbearably aware that everyone in the room was listening in on them and most of all – this Severus was listening to him. Caelum gave a neutral answer, managing to keep his voice steady, "I have picked up a skill or two in my life. However, only the most rudimentary and crude skills when it comes to Healing."

"You did what you could, Mister Black. It is impressive that you could hold him in this world as long as you did with all of the old wounds that we discovered. I am sorry for your loss." The Healer bowed his head before returning to his two colleagues who had conjured a white sheet over the body. Caelum slid his eyes over to Melania and Lucretia who were holding hands and looked deathly pale. His legs involuntary took him closer.

"Grandmother…" This should have been easy. He had said these words so many times that he should know how to begin. So many friends and dear ones had died before his eyes that this had become routine. But perhaps he had lost touch with that part of himself as he now found himself floundering for words that would not come. Was it because they had been of same blood that he felt like this?

"Oh, dear…" Melania let out a sob and threw herself forward into Caelum's arms. He stiffened under the unfamiliar touch but quickly forced away the feeling of phantom fingers ghosting over his back and wrapped his arms around the now quietly crying woman. He had nearly forgotten she was a MacMillan and did not naturally possess the Black disposition that Lucretia was presenting at the moment. The younger woman's lips were drawn in a tight line and the paleness had not vanished but she was not crying, and she was not going to break down in front of an audience.

"Lucretia, can you please take Melania to Aunt Cassiopeia?" He locked eyes with her and held onto her shock, letting it dissipate through some pretty advanced Legilimency while at the same time picking up on Cassiopeia's location. When she nodded he handed over the crying woman, summoned a fork to be used as a Portkey. "I will come as soon as I can." The fork glowed blue and five seconds later the two women had been whisked away.

The present caught up to Caelum and he looked around noting that only the Malfoys and Severus seemed to have noticed his illegal, wandless Portkey creation. The Healers were all hunched together in a silent debate. He did not know who to address first but figured his next action might involve some deep breaths. He was again in some seriously deep shit and Zahra and Harry were expecting him back in a couple of hours. With the way matters stood, it would be a wonder if he managed to get back to France in a couple of _days. _

He conjured some parchment and a quill and scribbled a note for his two wards. "Kreatcher."

The ancient house elf popped in. It was clear he wanted to say something but one look from Caelum sent him away, the note clutched in his hand. Then the man turned to the others present.

"Lucius, I am terribly sorry that this had to occur under your roof. Be assured that it does in no way affect how I view you and your family." He did not _think_ the Malfoys had caused the heart failure. One just never could be sure about these things. "I also have to admit my own ignorance in such matters as…" He searched for the right word. "Passing of a relative." He knew Arcturus would be buried in the private Black graveyard. It was on the Black Manor grounds in Wales. So his next step should involve taking Arcturus to the Manor.

"Mister Black? It is common procedure for the Healers to take custody of the body until the final cause of death can be specified, especially when the death of a wizard is sudden. May we prepare the body for transport?"

Ah, that took care of that. His nod had the Healers moving and they quickly had the body levitating between them and with a flash of a Portkey they were whisked away to St. Mungos. He expelled the breath he had been holding and then turned to stare meaningfully at Severus knowing Lucius would pick up on his supposed confusion.

"Pardon my manners," the blond man hastened to say while Narcissa slipped out of the room, probably to check up on Draco. It was a small positive thing but the young boy had not been present. "This is Severus Snape, Potions Master and the Head of Slytherin House at Hogwarts. Severus, this is Caelum Black, the Head of the Black Family."

"Master Snape," Caelum managed to utter in greeting and bow his head slightly. His black eyes peered up at the man through his lashes and he noticed he was answered with just as composed a bow. The bow that Severus used when meeting new people whose standing he was not certain of. It should not have torn at Caelum's heart but it did.

"Our meeting occurs at the most unfortunate time." He managed to keep his voice from wavering but it was too stiff, far too stiff for his preferences.

"I am sorry for your sudden loss."

Caelum smirked at the words and could tell he was surprising both men. _Unbalance them, take control of the situation._ "This was only the third time I had met my grandfather, and though his passing does affect me, we did not have time to truly know each other." He let that sink in. "I am truly grateful Draco was not present for this. I first witnessed death when I was eleven years old and I have to admit that was far too young."

"He had been grounded earlier today. There was a potions mishap." At this Lucius glanced at Severus but Caelum's eyes had never left him. There was a slight relaxing of the man's posture as his godson was mentioned. He cared about Draco, just as his had. "Severus here is Draco's godfather and the boy does try to impress him. Did you know he went to school with your brothers?" Seeing Caelum's faked intrigue that he used to cover his shock at the blatant change of subject, the blond haired man continued, "I was five years ahead of Sirius and Regulus entered as I left. Sirius and Severus were of the same year class."

Caelum had to wonder if Lucius was simply trying to get into his good graces with Severus' expense or was there some tension between the men at the moment. He hid his confusion behind a politely interested façade as he turned to face Severus Snape who was looking uncomfortable under the mask of indifference. "Truly? I am quite interested in my brothers as both are nearly as good as dead at the moment. You were in the same house as Regulus?"

"Yes, I knew him."

"Perhaps I could trouble you with some details at some later time?" He knew he was pushing at the boundaries but here it was, an opportunity to get to know this version of his lover. An opportunity to gain a part of his life back.

"Perhaps something could be arranged."

Enough of pushing boundaries. He needed to be careful or Severus would flit right through his fingers like the slippery Slytherin the man was. He graced both men with a smile and made his excuses. "I am sorry to cut the first meeting short but I need to face my Aunt. Cassiopeia will be expecting some answers."

A compassionate look flickered over Malfoy's face and Caeum nodded, grimacing slightly. He left the two men, opting to Floo instead. His magic might have thrown him to Australia if he tried to Apparate at the moment. He was too high strung from meeting Severus.

This world looked even more inviting now that he had finally spoken with his former/future lover. They weren't the same but there had to be some shared basis. He could not wait to discover what it was. But at the moment he had a half-insane Dark witch waiting to confront him about the death of her cousin.

oooOOOooo

Arcturus' funeral was not a huge affair. It involved him and the Blacks and the Malfoys. Arcturus had been closing on his ninetieth birthday so his death had not been that surprising especially with the old wounds. He had lived through two wars, buried a son and his daughter-in-law and grandson not to mention his siblings and cousins and watched one grandson and other relatives get thrown into Azkaban. While he might have had many years ahead of him without the old Dark magic his body had accumulated, the Healers could not find anything suspicious about his death.

As the coffin was lowered into the crypt Caelum kept his eyes on Melania who looked ready to faint at any moment. Though her daughter had not left her side at any moment since Arcturus' passing, she was looking paler and paler every day. Lucretia had suffered a loss of her husband during Voldemort's rise some thirteen years ago so she knew what her mother was going through. It was difficult but Caelum could not do much more for them. He was the Head of the Family and the Family magic was constantly passing his support to Lucretia and Cassiopeia – even if the old witch spurned the action with all her power. He could do very little for Melania but he had tried to be there. He had only seen Zahra and Harry for five minutes these past three days.

He needed to go to France. He knew nothing serious could happen with both Kreatcher and Syl there but he still did not completely trust the ancient Genie. There was too much he did not know about her.

"In Magic we were born and in Magic we shall die. It is time for this spirit to leave this world and return to Death until Magic deems him worthy to return. May Arcturus Black find his peace in Death."

The crypt closed itself before their eyes and the funeral guests rose from their seats. There was no need for anything extra; according to Melania Arcturus had not wanted his funeral to be a big affair, simply a gathering of family. There was no repast organized. The guests would simply return to their homes and continue their lives.

In the Wizarding World the funerals were generally quiet affairs organized and attended by family only. Harry had been to one big funeral and that had been Albus Dumbledore's. That was because of his huge influence and effect on the world at large. Wizards and witches knew that the soul existed – there was no question of that. They also knew that rebirth was possible though only through the Darkest of Arts. It was not a question of what happened after death that the funerals were for. The need to mourn was not a public affair and wizards dealt with it amongst family – thus the small service. Arcturus was simply following the simplest form.

With quiet words exchanged the people dispersed after the _libitinarii_ had finished speaking and the crypt had closed. Caelum was left alone in the graveyard and he stood before the tomb for a while. His mind was cast back as the images of past life invaded his mind. He drew in a shuddering breath.

"My life would have been so much easier had you lived." The words just came. He didn't even know if he was talking to Arcturus or simply speaking his mind. He looked up at the cloudless skies. It was a sunny day and the summer was coming. "Now I have to figure out how to introduce them. And without you Cassiopeia is going to be a pain in the ass. A bastard child of a bastard Head of Family… She'll think I'll bring the family to ruin."

He shook his head. Plans and plots. Schemes and ideas. As the mage Disapparated he had to wonder if the prize in the end would be worth this all.

"Master and Miss will sit down!"

Ugh. Caelum's senses went on alert as he appeared in the foyer and Kreacher's screeching reached his ears. Immediately a loud _crash_ followed and he rushed in the direction of the noise. As he arrived in the kitchen, he slid to a stop and gaped.

Kreacher was trapped under a chair – actually a pile of chairs – that appeared to have been the origin of the crash he'd heard earlier. Harry was sitting on the table and giggling while Zahra had her finger pointed at the poor house elf and she was smirking rather nastily. Food was sliding down the walls and Caelum caught sight of Syl hanging from the ceiling. He let out a suffering sigh.

"Kreacher, you may return to London." The elf glared at him and popped out, the pop extremely pronounced in the sudden silence that had fallen in the kitchen. Keeping his eyes on the Genie Caelum swished his hand and the kitchen was returned to its former order. The ruined food vanished and the chairs arranged themselves around the table, two of them catching the children on their way. He himself stood at the end of the table where the two miscreants could see him clearly. Both gulped.

"How is it that-" He paused as Syl dropped his body on his shoulders. "That I leave for a week and when I return you're torturing a loyal house elf?" He kept a tight control on his magic. There was no need to scare them.

Caelum could see that Harry was biting his lip hard enough to draw blood but Zahra was glaring right back at him. He met the purple eyes straight on and asked mildly, "Well?"

"We were just having fun," the Genie declared as if her behaviour was completely acceptable. Caelum cocked his head to the side. He wondered what he was supposed to do in this situation. He needed an explanation of some sort and he was going to get it.

"Harry. Did Kreacher do something to deserve that kind of treatment?"

Harry clutched the edges of his chair. He slowly shook his head.

"Then why did you just stand by and _laugh_ while Zahra was hurting Kreacher?"

"I… I thought it was funny."

Caelum sighed again and knelt beside the kid. He was sure to include Zahra in this as well and looked at the girl. "Hurting another being is wrong. Unless that being has done something to hurt you first. So, _tell me, _what did Kreacher do?"

Harry swallowed. "Well, he was nasty to Zahra because she wouldn't eat his food. I guess she was mean about it but Kreacher started muttering some bad things and she started playing with the food." He swallowed again nervously. "Kreacher tried to get her to sit down but she wouldn't…" He trailed off as he caught sight of the evil eye Zahra was sending his way.

"Okay, you two. Zahra, why couldn't you tell Kreacher that as a Genie you don't need to eat?"

Despite the Sticking Charm the Genie managed to make it seem as though she was sitting on a throne. Her expression had turned cool and aloof. Caelum wished he could simply spell himself past the wall the ancient being had built around her but it wasn't possible. It would take time and he had to tread carefully. He was neither a psychologist nor experienced with dealing children. All he had going for him were his own experiences and he could easily step off the right path. With his past he wasn't even sure he qualified as a child minder.

"He is a house elf. They're meant to serve, right? I don't take orders from that creature, especially when it obviously hates me."

"Zahra…" He rubbed his forehead. "Kreacher is loyal. He has the potential to be a good friend to me. I trust him. He is a servant – yes – but that doesn't mean he should be treated badly. House elves have feelings that are just as strong as those humans have – or Genies for that matter. Every creature is worth something. They should be measured by their actions, not their origins. I understand that his behaviour leaves a lot to be desired for but you can't trap him under a pile of chairs when you perfectly well know he cannot fight against his Master's orders."

At least she had the decency to look down. Caelum continued, "Use of force should be the last resort. Anything else is just you being deliberately mean. And that is not right. Even if you were harmed in the past, it does not automatically give you the right to take your hurt out on another.

"I also know that I am partly to blame. I should have been here, with you, but I couldn't as a relative died. I am, however, glad that the two of you have learned to get along." He smirked at the kids that both seemed suspicious about the sudden change of subject. A flick of his wrist freed them from the Sticking Charms. He could sense the uncertainty in Harry and ruffled his hair. "You both have to apologise to Kreacher, understood?"

Harry nodded and smiled. Surprisingly his small hand closed around Caelum's a moment later. He hid his surprise at the gesture and looked at the Genie. She was staring at them blankly but he wondered if he was right to interpret that there was a hint of jealousy shining in her eyes.

"We need to have another talk. Zahra, if you're going to stay with us so you need to know some things that I didn't tell you earlier. You did not harm Harry even though I was gone and you two get along fine. Do you want to stay with us?"

It was a loaded question. He knew that but he also knew that he needed an answer out of the girl. An honest answer. He needed to trust her based on something else than the fact that he had the possession of her bottle. So he should start with what he expected of her – honesty.

"Yes. I want to stay here."

Good. Time for yet another explanation.

oooOOOooo

Time continued to pass as it usually did. Zahra and Harry grew closer by day and Caelum taught them together. He relocated them to the Grimmauld Place as soon as both of them had apologised to Kreacher and he had made sure Kreacher knew Zahra did not need to eat. When the elf heard she was actually an ancient Genie, his attitude towards her changed drastically. He was almost fearful of her. An improvement to earlier but not the best option – Caelum chose to go with it. Better than having them magicking each other.

He still had his plans and plots but he did not even mention them to the kids – and kids they had become in his mind. Zahra might have been a powerful Genie but she was also clearly the child she had been when the god had cursed her. From time to time she showed signs of deviousness and maturity that was well beyond her years but so did Harry after months of exposure to Caelum. His two wards got along splendidly and he did not intend to destroy what wasn't broken by introducing his plans until he absolutely had to.

It had been the middle of June that they had come to live to Grimmauld and they had even taken strolls in the Muggle part of London when the house began to feel too small for them – especially when Zahra wanted to shop for clothes. And while Zahra most certainly did not need magical education – as her Genie powers were practically limitless – she still accompanied Harry to his lessons. Caelum easily estimated that in the areas of Potions, Charms, Arithmancy and Transfiguration Harry would be far beyond his class mates, at least on the theoretical side. And he believed the boy would ace the practical side as well. He had.

Summer rolled on and with that Harry's birthday approached. However, it was in the early July that something even more drastic happened.

He had sealed the portraits in their frames the moment the two kids had come to live in the house. It was a constant strain on his magic that left him tired at the end of every day especially because the portraits themselves did not take well to the sudden imprisonment. It was a spell he had only discovered in La Tanière d'Ombre's library and that had been designed for short time usage. Of course the Emerald would have been capable of doing it for less strain but he did not wish to expose it to Hogwarts magic. The Headmaster and his Deputy could connect to the castle and Caelum would not put it past Dumbledore not to recognize the peculiar magic of his Emerald should he become aware of it through Phineas Nigellus' portrait. He could not risk even the slightest hint of a connection between Caelum Black and the masked man that had "stolen" Harry from his muggle relatives.

The portraits knew that kids called Zahra and Harry lived with in the house and he could hear the most boisterous of them questioning him and his decisions. But he did not pay it mind that much. He had also remembered to adjust the floo not to admit any visitors but allow floo calls. So it was only luck that allowed Harry from being revealed when Lucretia called and only Zahra had been in the room.

"Caelum, there is a head in the fire asking for you." The Genie had come to search him out. He had been in the study he had claimed as his own. One wall had been transformed into a focus for his Voldemort Quest and he had been staring at the clues he had attached to it when the girl had come calling.

It was an understatement that his heart had nearly convulsed when he had heard the words and rushed out to see who had seen the girl. Then he had had to floo over to explain the situation to Lucretia. He had already decided to announce Zahra as his daughter but he also knew anyone with any kind of magic sensing abilities could tell that the girl was not human. Some might even recognize her as a Genie and that would only lead to the revelation of his lies.

So he spun elaborate new webs of lies and had Lucretia believing that Zahra was his bastard daughter. Her mother had suddenly died and that had been the reason he had returned to Australia so suddenly after his arrival to England. No, he was not ready to introduce her to Melania and Cassiopeia. No, Lucretia could not reveal her existence to anyone. He would inform the rest of the Blacks later when he and Zahra had become better acquainted. That was because she had been living with her mother and they had not really interacted before her death. And he supposedly needed to teach her about England and the Blacks as she had no idea about them.

When the woman finally released him he had to face yet another interrogation as he informed Harry and Zahra of this development. It had been… difficult.

"Harry? May I come in?" He received no answer and the man leaned against the door frame, confused. Well, maybe not that confused. After all, he could guess what it had been that had set Harry off but how was he supposed to explain it if Harry would not even talk to him? He knew Zahra was somewhere close by and that the girl would be listening as well. How he had managed to surround himself with oddly mature children was a question he asked himself every day.

"Harry, this does not mean that Zahra is more important than you. You are both important to me but people cannot know about you being with me or they would try to take you away. And we need some kind of explanation if Zahra is ever seen," he explained to the door, well aware that both of his kids were listening. "I take care of both of you and I know it is difficult but your situation-"

"I hate being the Boy Who Lived!"

The sound was slightly muffled but Caelum could clearly make out the words. It sounded as though Harry was crying. He leaned his forehead against the dark wood of the door. "Harry… We are the same, as much as two same people from different universes can be. After all these months that I have been with you, do you think I could just leave you? I went to get you from the Dursleys to protect you and I want to continue doing that. I know you hate the fame. I _hate _it." His words were harsh as the memories again crashed against his shield. He pushed them away. "It is not fair. It is not fair that Lily and James had to die and it is not _right _that wizards and witches will have expectations of you." He softened his voice as he could hear the tell-tale padding of feet on the floor. They stopped on the other side of the door. "We've been together since Christmas but I think of us as a family. My family had Syl and Citala and Kreacher in it when you came to be with us. And now Zahra has come to join us. She is part of the family just as much even if she joined us later. I care about the both of you. Even if everyone believes she is my daughter by blood, the reason they don't know about you is this family's safety. It's not fair. It's not right. But is the way the world works and I won't risk losing you! Either of you!"

He shut his mouth as the lock clicked and the handle turned. He could see the pale face with clear tear tracks running down the cheeks peer up at him. He had never seen Harry's green eyes that expressive, that pleading. The door opened more fully and two arms reached up to him. He did not even think about refusing the wordless request and not a second later the boy was in his arms, secured on his hip. The tears came again but he simply ran his hand through the messy black locks and rubbed the back of this child that had come to depend on him in a way he had never depended on anyone. Tears seeped into the fabric of his shirt but he did not even think about forcing Harry to stop crying. Sometimes you just needed to let it out and he knew Harry too had learned at early age that tears were best to be shed in solitude. That the kid was crying in front of him only showed how much he had come to trust Caelum.

_Never intended to take the place of your father_, the mage thought in the privacy of his own mind. _But that I have become. You depend on me and I am there for you. You come to me with your problems and I help you. Am I now the parent to you that both of us craved in our younger years?_

"Harry?" he asked tentatively when the shivers had settled down slightly. "Should we go talk to Zahra? It's not her fault and she must be feeling bad because she thinks she's at fault for making you cry."

The boy nodded against his shoulder and they set out to find their other family member. She was in the kitchen, silently petting Citala. The hawk's eyes pierced Caelum the moment he walked through the door and from the bond the man could tell his familiar was worried about the Genie. He settled Harry on the chair opposite of Zahra and busied himself with preparing tea the Muggle way. The two of them could try to talk about this first and then he could intervene if need be.

The silence was only a minute long and Harry was the one to break it. "I'm sorry about… you know."

Zahra did not answer. Slowly Caelum became aware of the eyes on him and he got the hint. Without a word he popped out of the kitchen but not before setting up a convenient eavesdropping spell. A guardian had to know what his wards were up to, no?

"You were jealous."

The Genie's words sounded in his study as though she was standing next to him and Caelum sent a silent thank you to his dead lover who had taken the time to drill these spells into his thick skull. He kept gazing on the wall but all of his attention was focused on the conversation.

"I… Yeah, I was." Harry was silent and the man could imagine him fidget in his chair. "'Cause Caelum is important to me. And… I kind of got used to it being just us. But you're my first friend and I shouldn't have been upset and I'm sorry."

"It's okay. I'm jealous too."

He straightened in surprise. Zahra, jealous? How had he missed this?

"About what?"

He heard the clinking of china that his spell picked up on but it was a while before Zahra spoke, and when she did, he could hear the hints of sadness in her voice. "You're so close. He looks at you like you're something special and I get it. You're the same person but from an alternate universes. But he… I know your relatives were wretched but my… previous Masters were horrible. I… I don't want to talk about it and I don't want to think about it. And before that I was alone for _so long_. Inside my bottle. And I come out of my bottle, expecting to see those horrible Masters and instead it is him, Caelum. And I thought he would be bad too but he wasn't and I just…" She took a deep breath. "He is nice. But he is nicer to you. And I'm jealous."

"Caelum said he cared about both of us. That we're family."

"He might care about me but I also disgust him." There was a hard edge on Zahra's voice at that moment but it was the words that shocked Caelum even more. Especially the next ones that were declared in a broken whisper, "He knows what they did and he won't even want to touch me. I… He's hugged you so many times but he never touches me. I disgust him. He might care but he knows about… that and he…"

Harry tried to talk to the girl even more but as the boy had no idea what Zahra was talking about – Caelum had kept him in the dark about the details of Zahra's life – he really couldn't help much. But the most shocking revelation had been Zahra's need for… human touch.

The wizard leaned against his desk and shut his eyes, absentmindedly cancelling the spell. He had followed his own example in Zahra's case. After all of his experiences, first in the hands of Vernon and later the Death Eaters, he had come to resent most human touch. He did not like to let people touch him, as evidenced by his repulsion to shaking hands with Malfoy. He really only touched people that he knew he could trust. Severus had been one he had never denied no matter how a simple touch and now Harry. He had assumed Zahra would have been the same as him, not _wanting _to be touched.

But it was the opposite. And now she thought he was disgusted by her. Because of something she had no control over.

He needed to do something about this. But he couldn't simply just walk in there and act as though he had always offered her the same physical affection he had offered Harry. Not when the truth was that excluding Apparition he had never voluntarily laid a finger on her – not even accidentally. He had thought he had given her space but instead he had been driving a wedge in their relationship.

He sighed, rubbed his temples and squared his shoulders. Baby steps. As he had told Harry Zahra was part of this small and weird family and as its Head it was his responsibility to look after its members. He laid his hand on the door knob and turned. Maybe he could start showing his caring in other way as well? Zahra loved chocolate, as did Harry. Maybe…

"Ah, Kreacher." He spotted the house elf behind his door. "Could you please bake… a…" He drifted off as he spotted something entirely else as well.

Slytherin's locket, _Voldermort's horcrux_ was dangling from Kreacher's fingers as if mocking him. The darkness pulsed in it as though a living thing had been trapped inside and the magic seemed to suck on the light around it. Caelum was sure he could actually see the remnants of death lingering on the artefact.

_There was a horcrux in his house._

"Kreacher." His voice was hoarse and his eyes were glued on the locket. "Where did you get that?"

The house elf let out a most uncharacteristic squeal before popping away, guilt and fear written all over his expression. Caelum's mind reeled. What – how – when – who? Huh? Had that just happened? He stared at the spot Kreacher had just a moment before vacated. A horcrux? The one that was supposed to be behind blood wards and hordes of Inferi as well as Nightmare Potion. What on earth had happened?

"Kreacher!"

The elf did not answer his call. He felt his power flash and roll over the entire house and not a second later the ancient elf was kneeling at his feet. "Master called?"

"In my office, now."

He shut the door behind him and let his eyes wander before settling them on the pitiful Kreature grovelling on his knees. Kreacher would keep his secrets, the earlier commands ensured that. He took a deep breath and leaned against the door. "I have been searching that locket and other artefacts like it. So how is it that you have it?"

No answer. Kreacher simply stilled as if turned to stone.

He continued, "I went to Egypt and China. Nothing. And all this time one of them has been sitting in my house. Fetch the locket, Kreacher."

To his great surprise the house elf did not move, only glared at him balefully and began to rock on his heels. He recognized the signs of contradicting orders and scrunched his brow together. Had the Regulus of this world been high enough in the ranks for Voldemort to trust him with a piece of his broken soul? Nothing that he'd heard about Sirius' younger brother had even hinted at that. But it was the only explanation that he could come up with and now Kreacher was protecting his last Master's will by protecting the locket. He fervently wished he wouldn't have to kill the elf. He had no idea how he was going to explain that to Zahra and Harry.

"The locket needs to be destroyed for Voldemort to die!" he hissed coldly and saw Kreacher's eyes widening. "I need to protect Harry and to do that I need to destroy Voldemort. If you are going to stand in my way I won't hesitate to harm you."

"Master is going to destroy the locket?" He blinked at the elf's sudden tears. "Master knows how to do that? Kreature tried but Kreature couldn't! Couldn't follow Master Regulus' last order!"

What followed was a near heartbreaking story about Regulus turning against Voldemort and getting killed by the Inferi in the cave. And Walburga losing her mind as she had no idea about her son's fate and the ancient house elf powerlessly watching how his family fell apart, unable to help his Mistress. And when fiendfyre melted the locket and the screaming had ceased Caelum knew that he had Kreacher's forever loyalty – as surely as the elf was at that moment crushing his legs in a hug.

One horcrux closer to Voldemort's death.

A/N: That's the chapter. I am maintaining a three-chapter-ahead schedule because while I know exactly what should happen during the next year, I am also very aware that my muse keeps throwing new ideas at me all the time. I also apologise for much of the "telling" in this chapter. I wanted to get things moving along and that is why it might seem that Caelum, Harry and Zahra's relationship developed very fast when by the end of the chapter they have actually been together closer to two months already. And the next chapter reveals a mistake Caelum made. Look forward to it - though for when it comes out, I cannot make any promises.


	19. The First of Many

Merry Christmas my dear readers :)

Time for another update. Merula Aeolus asked for this especially before the 27th and I managed to finish one chapter in time. Good news is that I also have a month free from uni and I will try to get some writing done. Bad news is that my muse is pulling me towards other works but I will do my best to divide some of my attention to this. I will finish all of my works because I really do not wish to become one of the authors of unfinished stories that I sometimes curse.

Answers to reviews that were many:

**doodle808: **There are quite a few dimensional stories so in that sense I am not original. But I am trying to keep my boys from becoming too powerful because that would - as you said - become boring very quickly. Thanks for reading.

**atymer: **Everything will be answered in due time. If I miss some of your questions in the coming developments, feel free to notify me. Still, it pays to be patient when reading my fics - they are all very slow moving.

**Tempest S and EVERYONE:** the current world is the canon world with some extras added to it. Caelum is from an alternate world that I will introduce in detail in the future. I will do my best not to mess up the canon too much and stay within the parametres that Rowling created but she left a lot of room for imagination and I'm using that room to create my extra quirks in the world.

**Fyreheart, Madame Penguin:** Loads of questions you had. Okay, firstly Caelum is completely new to the family situation. He might have been the Deputy Headmaster of Hogwarts for a while but that time was shadowed by his depression and before that he was used to people simply doing what he told them and dealing with adults - not children. He did not think about a punishment and considering Kreacher's attitude also knew that it was partly the elf's fault. Also, by announcing Zahra as his daughter he can protect her better. The Blacks would never accept a relative from his supposed mother's side when they don't even know who the woman was and Caelum is keeping it under wraps as long as he can. And the Blacks are bound to know about any relatives from his father's side. It was the easiest and simplest solution.

Secondly, Zahra is acting out. She is testing the limits to which Caelum is willing to go to to accomodate her. She is not a twelve year old girl though she might look and act like that and this also affects her view on the world. She spents hundreds of years alone in a bottle with only herself for company and then she is always touched when she is out. Then along comes Caelum who doesn't require anything of her and she doesn't understand it. She is thousands of years old - even if she chooses to look and outwardly act like a young child, does that mean she actually is one? She knows that there's a difference in how Caelum treats her and Harry and what is abuse in other's eyes, is normal in hers. Needless to say, Zahra is almost like a time bomb that Caelum will have to slowly take apart.

Third, Caelum did not notice the horcrux because he was focusing on the Black magic in the house. In canon Harry even tried to force the locket open in his fifth year but did not feel anything. Caelum was not on the look out for a horcrux in his own house and in addition the locket was with Kreacher who had sworn to destroy it. And in my opinion, Voldemort would have been stupid if there had been no extra protections added to his soul anchors. Dumbledore admitted to going the Room fo Requirement and he did not sense the darkness in the diadem or its presence - neither did Harry in his fifth year.

Hope that cleared some confusion. About Hogwarts... you're just going to have to wait and see.

**DragonKnight1775: **Sorry about the mistakes, I don't have a beta at the moment and while that might affect the quality slightly, I feel that it's best to work alone when my updating schedule is as random as it currently is. On the matter of Caelum taking away Severus... maybe he is subconsciously trying to compensate for that loss by not taking anything else from Harry? Honestly, I had not thought about that. I quess in Caelum's mind Severus is already his and while it might take some time to make the Potions Master see the truth, it is the Gryffindor arrogance that is affecting Caelum's thinking. He is not perfectly sane on the scale of "normal" people. And Harry will make his choice regarding his sexuality when the time is right - which it is not for many years in the story line.

Thanks for everyone else who reviewed. Now, the chapter :)

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and no money is made with this.

* * *

OF SHADOW, SHINE AND SHADES by dra6on

Chapter 18. The First of Many

Caelum was sitting at the table in the kitchen on the morning of July 31st when a pounding of feet on stairs brought him out his musings. It was fairly early and the Prophet hadn't even been delivered yet but he was yet again reading through the stack of parchment the goblins had handed him over seven months ago. He was trying to figure out how exactly he would bring his plans to fruition. It was good and all to know exactly what he wanted but frustrating as hell when he lacked the means to do so. Lucretia was bearing down on him about introducing Zahra but he still had not found a way to trap the girl in human form. She was a Genie but the curse had been cast by a god and Caelum had serious doubts about unravelling the ancient magic without hurting her in the process.

But all that was pushed out of his mind when Harry pounded into the kitchen. There was a huge smile on his face but the kid froze when his eyes landed on the small pile of presents that had been arranged on the table. It was not much – certainly not as much as Caelum vaguely recalled Dudley receiving in his earliest years – but he believed the amount was suitably sufficient. Harry certainly seemed to think so.

"Presents? For me?" His green eyes were shining and Caelum was once again reminded of just how deprived of common courtesy the child had been during his earlier years. And they had only had a couple of flimsy months together and in another month Harry would be off to Hogwarts. His eyes skirted over the Hogwarts letter stuck on the wall. They had sent their answer with the same owl and he had nearly laughed when he had imagined Dumbledore pulling out his beard over the address: _Harry James Potter, Second Largest Bedroom on Third Floor, Unknown, Unknown, Unknown. _A fly on the wall of the Headmaster's office would have been privy to much juicy gossip in the past months.

"For you of course." He scratched his neck in faked confusion. "Do you see another birthday boy in here?"

"Thank you!" Caelum received a hug before Harry very carefully began to unwrap his gifts. At some point – between a book on Quidditch and Honeyduke chocolates – Zahra wandered down the stairs and made a beeline for the tea. The Genie was not a morning person, that one was certain. She was quite grumpy and needed at least half an hour to recover from "mortal sleep" as she called it. Apparently she could have gone without sleep, relying on her powers only, but she enjoyed the reprieve it allowed her. And when she'd found out about Occlumency she was adequate in it in three days. Nope, not a human.

"Happy birthday, Harry, Caelum." She thrust a small package at the mage who blinked and stared at the innocent looking gift in hands. He noticed Harry had gone completely still and looked up, noticing the guilty look on his face.

"I… honestly forgot that it was my birthday as well," he confessed, bewildered. He had not expected anything. He had very few truly happy birthday memories from his life and birthdays had sort of lost their meaning for him. It had not helped that Severus neither had put much stock in celebrating the day of one's birth.

"I'm sorry." Harry's mood had done a one-eighty. He looked positively miserable. "I-I didn't think. Why didn't you tell me?" He turned accusingly to Zahra who only glared over the rim of her tea cup in response.

"I thought that as you two are the same person, you would have had the brain cells to figure that one out yourself."

"Enough." He smiled and leaned over, placing a kiss on Zahra's hair. The girl fidgeted slightly but didn't outright flinch as she'd done just weeks ago. He turned to Harry and lifted him into a hug. "Even with the danger of sounding sappy… You two are all I want for my birthday. But," he continued when he saw Harry opening his mouth in protest, "as we were going to go out today, you can find me a present then. I don't need anything fancy." He settled the kid down and noticed his attention was now on his gift.

"What did you give to Cal?"

Instead of waiting for Zahra's response, the man carefully opened his gift. It had been smaller than the size of his closed fist and it ended up being a small box with intricate designs running over it. He turned it over in his hand but couldn't quite figure out how to open it. He knew it should open.

"I made it. I was so bored during my stay in the bottle that I started learning skills. I liked to carve. And I got very good at it." She pointed at the box in the mage's hands. "Must have done that one in the late 16th century. I'm not sure though, it was difficult to measure time in there."

"It is beautiful." He turned it around a couple of times but still the answer eluded him. Pressure points, maybe? "Thank you."

"It's nothing big."

They continued with opening Harry's presents. Caelum had not wanted to give him anything serious, nor anything school related. The main gift was probably a dagger that he promised he would show Harry how to use. He had been teaching him self-defence since Japan but it had been hand-to-hand combat without weapons.

"You have to be really careful with how you handle it and not to let anyone know you have it. It is the last resort, do you hear me? Only to be used if your own life is at stake."

Harry nodded solemnly. Caelum knew he could trust the kid but Harry _was _still a child albeit an awfully mature one. He would make mistakes and get into unfavourable situations and he needed to learn how to get through them. The mage couldn't protect him every hour of every day. This was going through his head as he helped Harry strap the sheath to his leg beneath the denim.

"Thank you."

Zahra laughed and bumped him with her shoulder. "Yeah, yeah. So… cake now or in the evening? Where do you want to go?"

"Mmmh… Can we go to Paris?"

That got only two blinks in response and Harry blushed. "'Cause we've been to France but not Paris and I think it's weird. And… Disneyland? Please?" He turned his puppy dog eyes on them and Caelum groaned. How could he say no to that?

oooOOOooo

While the happy family was making plans in London, the atmosphere was quite different hundreds of miles North in the Headmaster's office of a certain castle in Scotland. Albus Percival Brian Wulfric Dumbledore was pacing – yet again – in his office. His already crinkled face had sprouted new worry lines in the past seven months but on this day they seemed to stand out even more. He was worried – with a good reason, the old wizard believed – and he was watching decades' of careful work unravel itself. Every passing moment that Harry Potter was not found was another failure on his part.

The portraits of Headmaster and Headmistresses past looked on as the current Headmaster kept on pacing. A mutter, a whisper passed their lips from time to time but they too were aware of the significance of this day. One letter was lying on top of a pile of parchment on the desk, the words of the child visible yet not calming.

_To Deputy Headmistress Minerva McGonagall,_

_I would really much like to attend Hogwarts, and I will be on the train on September 1__st__._

_Harry Potter_

The Prophecy weighed heavily on his mind, the reassuring puffs of his silver instruments not quelling his fear the slightest. He could not help but ponder on the phrasing. The one with the _power _to vanquish the Dark Lord. Not that he'd use it. Not: The one that _will_ vanquish the Dark Lord. No, his luck was not good enough for that.

Absentmindedly the man popped a lemon drop in his mouth but even the familiar sugary taste could no longer ease his mind. He kept on pacing, the stone floor reinforced with magic as otherwise he would have already worn a circle in it.

Only after five more minutes the quiet grinding sound reached his ears and the aged wizard turned to settle himself behind his desk. The comfortable chair hugged him and all the aches of age seemed to seep away thanks to the intricate magical webs he had woven into it. Now if only he could do the same for his robes and he no longer would have to suffer on any chair. Hmm…

"Albus, you summoned me?"

The wizard allowed a sad smile to appear on his face as one of the members of his faculty stepped inside his office. The most trusted, one Severus Snape.

Even if the younger man did not show it, Albus Dumbledore knew well that he too was worried about Harry's fate. He waved the other man to take a seat and he did, slowly. The black eyes scanned all surfaces in his office – a leftover habit from his unsavoury past – and they expectantly settled on the letter. The thin eyebrows climbed higher.

"Ah, yes. We received an answer from Harry. It does not say much." He pushed the letter towards Severus who immediately snatched it up and read it with rapt attention. The Potions Master even sniffed the parchment as though some smell might linger but then shook his head. For a second the weight of the oath was visible on his features until it was hidden behind the familiar mask that Albus still to this day could not penetrate.

"So the boy lives and will attend. I fail to see the point to you summoning me with such hurry." The words were nearly bitten out, from the sound of it. Albus sighed again. He hoped that the worry over the boy would have curbed his friend's anger towards the boy's father but alas, it was not to be. He, however, knew better than to turn the knife in the wound.

"I had the fortune to speak with Molly at the end of the holidays." He paused, letting Severus to comment.

"That was a month ago."

"Indeed it was. Yet it was only last week that I received conclusive evidence of her story. It seems that young William, while in Egypt, came across Harry and his kidnapper."

He watched, slightly amused how the other man stiffened in his chair and glared at him with all the power his eyes beheld. "And you waited until now to divulge this information? We could have caught the boy!"

The painting's muttering rose in volume as they expressed their displeasure at someone shouting at the Headmaster. Severus merely glared in response but before some well-placed fire charms could leave his wand, Albus intervened,

"It was too late even a month ago. William came across Harry in May. And as he was not aware of the situation simply thought the boy was on a holiday with his caretaker. It was mere luck that Gringotts gave him leave and he mentioned the incident while visiting with his family." Severus' eyes were back on him, urging him to continue. "I managed to track young William down to get a memory of the meeting. Would you care to join me?"

Severus gave a tight nod and Albus levitated his Pensieve from the cupboard. Together the two wizards plunged themselves into the memory.

Albus, who had already watched the memory countless times, immediately spotted William. Severus followed him as he made his way toward the spot against the pyramid's outer wall where he knew the two would soon materialize. And, after only fifteen seconds, the man and the boy did, without a sound. Albus saw Severus start slightly at their sudden appearance.

"This is the man that took Potter?"

Hmm… He had not shown Severus the memory of Harry's initial retrieval. So many reasons for that.

He saw the Potions Master walk closer and circle them. His brows were furrowed but his features smoothed out the second he laid his eyes on young Harry. Albus knew what was going through his mind. Without glasses and with the deep tan Harry's resemblance to James ended with the unruly hair. The look of wonderment that so reminded him of Lily would be like a stab in the gut for Severus. A reminder of his past mistakes that he could never undo.

A moment passed with Harry looking up at the man's veiled face and then his mouth moved but no sound passed his lips. Albus could however read from lips, as he knew Severus could as well.

"_You see them?_"

The man himself was staring at the horizon. Albus could only guess at what the man saw, though one guess stood above the others. Still, the chances of the wizard being actually capable of seeing magic were slim. Even with Harry's later comment. There were too many possibilities though the veil covering his face led the wizard to believe he might be a Necromancer. The idea of Harry spending time alone with their kind and casually asking after the spirits of the dead send a chill down his spine. He sincerely hoped it was not the case, and fortunately other evidence seemed to point in that direction as well.

"See what?" he heard Severus murmur as the man stared in the same direction while the man answered, his words shielded from them by the veil. Albus' attention was back on Harry as the kid pressed his hand against the cracked and worn down wall and closed his eyes. His posture relaxed as he seemed to concentrate on something very hard. Even Severus had noticed this peculiarity and abandoned the mystery the man presented. He stared at the boy as though he had lost his mind and sneered, the yellowing teeth glinting in the harsh glare of the sun.

"Hey, kid, you alright?"

Even though Harry was obviously startled by William who had noticed the two and made his way over, he noticed now, as he had earlier, that the man with his green eyes had all the time been aware of the red head's approach. The words had not been a surprise though he made it seem as though only they informed him of William's approach.

"Sorry. I was just… looking."

Surprise flickered in Severus' eyes as the two visitors watched Harry very deliberately reveal his scar to William Weasley. This action sprung a whole slew of other questions. Had this been planned? Then why? They were questions Albus had no answers for.

"Harry."

Severus shivered next to him as the whispery voice reached their ears. William flinched and Albus yet again noticed the very disturbing smirk on Harry's lips. This was starting to seem more and more a game for the young boy and his companion. What supported this theory was Harry's light-hearted answer,

"Hey Cal. Finished with the wards?"

"He can see magic?"

"So it would seem," Albus answered Severus. "Then again…" They watched in silence as William was hired as their tour guide. The stranger was revealed to go by the name Caleb and it really seemed the two strangers to the pyramid were played some sort of a prank on the naïve curse breaker.

"Mister Caleb. I'm just… Sorry for asking but… are you Harry Potter?"

"It's a pleasure to meet you."

_He has good manners_, Albus noted to himself. The stranger's, this _Caleb's_, voice made his skin crawl and he could see William felt the same way as he presented himself and the two conversed about what exactly the man and boy would like to see inside.

William launched into his explanation that Albus now knew by heart. He busied himself with watching Harry who was again touching the walls as though he couldn't stop himself. There also seemed to be some sort of an internal debate that the boy was engaging himself in. But it ended with little attention from the stranger.

_Just how deep is the bond they have forged in these moths? What if Harry is lost forever? He was bound to have latched onto the first friendly face that he came across._ The thoughts would not leave him be.

They continued for a long while. Albus noticed that Severus kept his eyes on the stranger at all times, going so far as nearly tripping when the steps turned suddenly uneven. He righted himself and went back to listening to the conversation that the two older wizards of the memory were engaged in. Every time the whispery voice spoke there was a visible tremor on young William's frame. Albus knew this. He also knew what would come next and walked closer to see whether Severus would miss it.

From the sharp intake of breath and the full scale tremor, he caught it just fine. Harry turned to look at the man, before he looked around some more and the jubilant hissing noises passed through his lips. Severus froze on the spot and stared at the Boy-Who-Lived as though he had grown an additional head. Similar hissing echoed in the corridor with no apparent source. The curse breaker did not seem to notice. Albus had to pull on his sleeve to get the Potions Master to move. They followed in silence as the tour ended and the last conversation commenced.

"I'm sorry for being this curious… but what is the Boy Who Lived doing in Egypt of all places?"

"My Muggle relatives signed me off to Cal last December. They were happy to see me go, and I've been with Cal since then."

"Oh. And you, Mr Caleb? The Ministry and Dumbledore chose you especially to take care of him? The few Death Eaters still at large must pose a danger, after all."

"Hmm. Albus Dumbledore and the Ministry had very little to do with the choosing. But I think it has benefitted Harry to learn of magical culture before Hogwarts."

"Yeah," Harry put in innocently. "My relatives never told me anything about magic. Until Cal told me about my parents and the war, I'd thought they'd died in drunken driving accident." He was no longer touching the walls and looking at the adults. Albus noticed it did not seem to make a difference which hand he used and it certainly was not a necessity. What was he missing here? Severus made a strangled noise in the back of his throat at the mention of the accident.

"What?" William paused to process this. "You're telling me you didn't know about Magic until a couple of months ago? Like a Muggleborn?"

"Yeah. My relatives really didn't like me. They said I was a waste of space and their time and money. And then Cal came for me at Christmas. It was the best present ever!"

It was clear that the young Weasley was highly disturbed by this and carefully asked, "He just took you? And your relatives let him?"

Harry turned slightly pensive. "Well… Call can be really scary at times and I don't think the whale – sorry, Uncle Vernon – would have let me leave if he hadn't been. I only heard part of it 'cause I was in my cupboard."

"Cupboard?"

"Sorry to interrupt, but I think we need to be getting back. This was just a stopping point on our trip. Come, Harry."

The man's voice was even more shocking after the long dialogue between the redhead and Harry and Severus was visibly startled by the reintroduction of the whispery voice. Had the situation not have been so serious Albus might have been counting the times his Potions Master had lost his composure during their visit in this on memory.

"Bye, Bill! It was nice talking to you." Harry grinned at their guide and then the two vanished as silently as they had arrived. Severus and Albus were expelled from the Pensieve and the two wizards spent the next couple of minutes in a contemplative silence. Severus was the one to break it.

"Did the boy speak the truth when he told Weasley about his relatives simply signing him off?" It was a rare occasion that Albus had heard his friend's voice that cutting. He sighed and pinched his noise.

"Unfortunately. It seems Petunia never appreciated a reminder of her sister under her roof. Harry's childhood might not have been the happiest but as you can see he overcame that. But we simply cannot let him be. Whoever this _Caleb_ is, he cannot be left alone with Harry."

"They boy is quite happy and obviously safe," Severus snarled. "He does not need us and that letter," one long finger pointed at his desk accusingly, "only proves that he will arrive at Hogwarts safe and sound. If the man wanted to kill him, it would not have taken him months and months and holidays in Egypt to accomplish!"

"He obviously wants something else," Albus cut. "His mere gift with speaking Parseltongue suggests a connection to Voldemort. He might be slowly but surely warping Harry's opinions and views on matters. We do not need another Dark Lord at our hands."

Severus had gone rigid in his chair. When he spoke, the coldness of his voice nearly made Albus flinch. "You think because of _Parseltongue_ the boy is going to turn Dark? Because of some _peculiarities _he is going turn into a megalomaniac murderer?"

"Of course not." Some of his displeasure sounded through. "But it is unclear what he has been doing these past months. Why is he touching the walls? How could the man see the wards? What is the man? Everything I have discovered about him – though only by my own experience in December and now this memory – points to him being exactly the kind of person we do not want Harry to associate with."

"Albus." Severus was trying to sound quite reasonable. Unfortunately that was not one of his strongest suits. "I understand that you think the boy is important. For the… the Prophecy and his _destiny._" The last word sounded as though the Potions Master had swallowed Skele-Grow. "But he will be here in September. _Unfortunately._ He will be playing pranks and sneaking out and being _Potter._" If possible, Severus made the word Potter sound even worse. "You need to focus on the other issues at hand. There is something suspicious going on with Quirrell. Not only that but the Stone must be fetched soon. The reason you are planning on placing it here is to protect it? No reason to do that if _it has already been stolen from Gringotts_. You have not gone through the new student register and only just kept up with your ICW and Wizengamot duties. Lucius will soon becircling in for the kill. _Potter will be here_. You better make sure the school and the world are ready to take him on."

Severus took a deep breath and rose from the chair. "If that was all, I have some brewing to do."

Albus did not try to stop him from leaving. He knew the morning had had a deep impact on the man's expectations of James Potter's son. From the entire memory it was clear that if nothing else Harry was taught to manipulate others and thus get what he wanted – whatever it was. And after the scene Albus had arrived to in December he doubted his chances at gaining Harry's trust.

Everything was falling apart. The aged wizard leaned forward and rested his forehead on his hands.

"Your Head of Slytherin is right, you know," Phineas Nigellus informed him in his condescending style. "The boy will be here but you have so many more responsibilities besides him. If the trap is to be set, you need to get your priorities straight."

Albus sighed. He waited for a moment before getting up to go and find Hagrid. On his way out he muttered to himself, "What's the point in doing any of this if Voldemort wins in the end?"

oooOOOooo

"Thank you, thank you, thank you! This was the best day ever!"

Caelum honestly did not know where the kid got his energy. Not that he was tired but he was feeling strained. Hours spent walking around Paris and then more hours running around in Disneyland had his patience at the limit. Still, he kept his cool and let the kid enjoy his day. Since Zahra too was having fun he knew he would be outnumbered if he complained.

They had seen the Tower of Eiffel and Louvre – though only from outside. He had put a Disillusionment Charm on them and Apparated them on top of L'Arc de Triomphe from where they'd been spotting cars and people for a while. Okay, maybe he had gone out of his way to make this a special day for Harry but the kid deserved it. He was painfully aware that while his life might have been better than it was with Dursleys, it was not an ideal life they led. They had been to Australia, Japan, China, Egypt and France within half a year. That was more countries than most travelled to during their entire lives.

And he had taught Harry Magical Theory. He was at least on the level of a third year when it came to theory – possibly higher when it came to Potions and Defence Against the Dark Arts. And Arithmancy. Harry loved numbers and according to him the idea of using numbers in Divination was not only great but it helped him understand the world. He would be an excellent spell crafter in the future due to his skill.

Caelum very much doubted that the kid was counting the numbers of everything around him.

He put down the bags he had collected during the day and only a moment ago summoned from non-space. His money pouch had grown lighter and lighter during the day. It was possible because he had stashed most of his money from his previous home in non-space and only kept a fraction of his money on him. Even if he was a mage it was perfectly possible for a pickpocket to snatch his wallet, especially for one without magic in a crowd.

"Master has returned?" Kreacher had popped in the moment they had come back. The clock was nearing ten in the evening and all Caelum wanted to climb up the stairs, fall into his bed and sleep like the dead. But leaving the sorting of their purchases to Kreacher might not be a good idea.

"Yes, Kreacher. I'll just put these away and then go to bed. You can go rest already. Sorry for waking you up."

"Thank you, Master." He vanished into the boiler room and Caelum set to work. There were clothes that Zahra had found and demanded to have. Harry had found him a pendant – a round green rock with a silver snake wound around it. It was beautiful and Caelum was happy with the gift – more so because Harry too was happy with it.

He sorted the clothes and Banished them to Zahra's room. Then he went through Harry's purchases that involved books and some souvenirs. Small things that would forever remind them of this day. He set the camera down, making a mental note to get the film developed. It was a moot point to think about it now but they could have collected an album of all their memories. Not that Harry could show it to anyone but it would be a nice reminder for the future.

_I could do it from memories,_ he realized. _Just take a camera with me into a Pensieve and then take photos. Would it work? Would the magic disrupt the mechanics?_ He did not know but it was worth a try.

He was still piling the books when the kids pounded into the kitchen. He groaned.

"Please don't tell me you're hungry again!"

"No, just…" Zahra and Harry wore identical smirks on their faces and both grabbed one of his arms, pulling him down on the chair.

"Good night." In a synchronized movement the kids pressed kisses on his cheeks. If Caelum anymore did something like blushing, he would have been beet red. But he had not blushed in a long time and – always ready for revenge – only pulled the two into his lap and began to tickle their sides.

"No! No, stop!" Harry laughed and squirmed and Caelum let out a laugh of his own. The chair tipped and all three ended up sprawled on the shining black floor. Another burst of laughter followed this incident and they stayed lying on the floor to wait for their laughter to subside.

"So, I take it today was a good day?"

"The best," Zahra answered before Harry. Caelum smiled at her. Just a couple of weeks and she had come this far.

Caelum had started out small. He had "accidentally" leaned over Zahra so that his chest touched the top of her head. The girl had frozen but when he had gone off as though nothing had happened, she had slowly relaxed. For days afterwards there had been a wary look in her eyes that had broken Caelum's heart. So he had given her a bit of a reprieve until he had decided to involve Zahra in Harry's Potions lessons. He had quite nonchalantly guided her through the motions of cutting, all the time touching her. Again the wary look had appeared.

Then when they had gone out into London he had simply, without asking, taken a hold of both of the kids' hands. It had been a long road with lots of baby steps but now she even welcomed the hugs he was willing to share and could lie next to him on the floor and laugh herself silly over something as simple as a tipping chair.

The three got up. That was when Caelum's eyes landed on the covers of one the books Harry had bought. Sleeping Beauty. But more than the familiar title, the picture on the cover caught his attention. A blond woman, sleeping peacefully in a glass coffin. Just like the High Elf in the Horcrux location.

Perhaps it was Fate helping him out or something equally unbelievable but when Caelum's eyes turned to Zahra, inspiration struck.

_I could… Holy shite! Why did I not think of this before? _He grabbed the table for support and reached for the book. _A Genie is basically a spirit in the bottle. There is no flesh, no blood in them. So instead of using magic to change her body, why not bind it into another? It needs something more… The adoption? By blood? Damn, I thought of this before! I thought of this before the latest Governors' meeting and I forgot about it when Arcturus died! Am I that stupid?_

"Caelum, are you alright?"

He turned his face toward Harry but could not really see anything. The bottle. It was a problem. There was magic binding Zahra to it and destroying the bottle would kill its Genie. So he would have somehow take care of the bottle while Zahra took over the body and he used his own blood to bridge a connection between the soul and the vessel. But what…

Caelum summoned the Genie bottle from non-space and turned it around in his hands. Maybe… But it would be painful. It would be _oh so_ painful.

Harry and Zahra backed nervously away as they caught sight of the cruel smile twisting at Caelum's lips.

* * *

A/N: No, it is not the kids that Caelum is planning on hurting. All will be revealed in the future and I hope you keep on reading. Review :)


	20. Ready?

Hey guys! I just today realized what a long time it has been since I last updated this thing and I am sorry. I got sucked into the freshman year stuff. Good thing is I only got a month left of my first year so there should be more chapters during the summer months when I have time to write.

I was just in a happy mood for having finished my last assessment for the moment and wanted to give something to you as well. I can't tell you how happy your reviews make me. Sometimes you can be feeling so down and then you notice a review alert in your Inbox and your whole day just gets better and you cannot stop smiling. Such a boost to confidence as well.

(Added 2/4/2012) So let's answer some reviews.

**Almecestris**: You bring up a good point about Caelum revealing the Parseltongue ability. But if you go back, you're going to notice that Harry was the first one to speak in Parseltongue. Even if Caelum immediately saw the repercussions of that action – which I'm not saying he did - the fact remains that there were no snakes around and there was no reason for Harry to suddenly start hissing unless he expected someone to understand him. Dumbledore has a brilliant mind and he could have deduced it. And Dumbledore getting the memory was always a possibility.

It also seems that Zahra divides opinions. Some of you love her and others really do not like her. All I can say is that she has her part in the story and in my opinion she brings some reality to the equation. Children – and humans in general – are not angels and when something bad happens, the reactions vary. No one in my story is perfect – just as you don't find a person that is perfect. Zahra has her role and she will grow during the story, just as Harry will. At the moment she is testing the limits and wondering if Caelum really cares about her or if it is a cruel joke like her life has been for hundreds of years. That warrants a little misbehavior in my opinion. She was born human and she has seen the worst that mankind has to offer. And she might have picked up on a few things on the way.

I'm not revealing much about the future, just saying that next chapter, 21, has Sorting and Caelum's plan about the bottle.

Without further rambling, here's the chapter.

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and no money is made with this.

* * *

OF SHADOW, SHINE AND SHADES by dra6on

Chapter 19. Ready?

He had tried and tried. But all of his efforts had been in vain. Though his first idea had included involving the elf in her tomb he had reconsidered and attempted the find a comatose human body that Zahra could then occupy. The problem was that the body had to have a magical core and there simply weren't comatose young girls available. He had even tried abroad but now – only two weeks before September 1st – he had to let go of his reluctance and take advantage of the situation.

Harry had stayed back in London with Syl, Kreacher and Citala while only Caelum and Zahra had returned to Egypt. He knew that the result could be potentially disastrous and he did not want to endanger Harry unnecessarily. He had kept it a secret from everyone in his family but he had dropped for a visit in Gringotts and arranged his will. It was a precaution. He had already destroyed one horcrux and if Voldemort should ever discover this he would make it to the top of his killing list.

Even if he had killed the Voldemort of his original world, there were no guarantees that he could repeat the feat here. The Dark Lord was dangerous to the _n_th degree and in a fight anything could happen. Nothing could be taken for granted and though he had not even been a mage nor had his wandless magic when he had killed Voldemort he simply did not know if this world was the same in that aspect. It could be that this world's Dark Lord was weaker. But then again it could mean that he was a hundred times more powerful.

He simply did not know.

"Come on." He gathered Zahra in his arms. "Ready to Apparate?"

After feeling the Genie nod against his chest he concentrated on the feeling of the tomb, on the outstanding sight that had for a moment stolen his breath away and let his magic carry them away to their destination.

Of course they ended up on the edges of the Anti-Apparition wards but it was a short walk to the innermost chamber. The traps in the mural chamber had already been triggered and in the second chamber the quicksand was easy to follow.

As far as he could see nothing had changed during his absence. Though it had been months ago in this remnant of the ancient world the time seemed to stand still. The sand had piled against the pillars that reached high to the ceiling that bore the only marks of time's effect on this place. But still, even then, the cracks seemed to belong, bringing an even more authentic feel to this place.

And in the middle of the room was the glass coffin. Within it lay the High Elf, Daughter of Yelvyn.

"She's beautiful," Zahra whispered, awed. "Is it alright? I… This place seems… sacred."

He did not know what to answer at first. Absentmindedly he now noticed that the vines on which she lay were actually magically crafted rubies. Same in the pillars and on the walls. Silver and jewels on the coffin.

"She was left here by her people. Her spirit is gone and this is… a shrine. I do not know who she was." Caelum took a step closer and laid his hand over glass. The magic made his palm tingle. "But I do know that our need is great and that if the Fates exist, they must deal with this decision as I cannot think of anything else. And you are part of our family. I cannot think of another way to protect you."

Zahra came to stand by him. The sand crunched beneath her boots and she had a small smile on her face. "I am going to be so beautiful."

"Remember the changes that occur after the blood adoption. At the least I think your hair colour will change. I hope it is not the eyes as mine and Harry' eyes are quite distinctive."

"I was hoping I could get them…"

"We better get started." Caelum began pulling various items out of non-place. Zahra's bottle, two ceremonial athames, a wine bottle, a silver cup and a small bottle of clear liquid. Also, the Staff appeared and hovered above them, its green light mixing with the light of Caelum's earlier Lumos Maxima.

"Sit over here. Don't move." He noticed Zahra's eyes had not left her bottle for a second since it had been on plain view and he had to wonder if the girl understood the bond they would be breaking. She had got used to being nearly omnipotent. Her powers were dangerous and she had been using them to do anything for herself within her little world in the bottle during those long centuries she had spent alone. After this was done… it would all be gone.

They had talked about it but how could he ever convey the truth of the matter with words only? He did not even understand it himself.

Reflexively he called the Staff to his hand and clenched his fist around it. If he were to lose his power… If he were to not be a mage no longer – but something lesser? How could he adapt? His magic was an old friend that supported him through everything. Even if it had fought against him and he had lost parts of it, the core was essentially the same. And if after all that he had experienced it would change… How could he live the same?

"I need to get her body out of the coffin." His voice broke but he ignored it. It was a simple matter of waving the Staff for the glass to disappear. The wines retreated as though to give him better access and very carefully he hooked his arms behind her upper back and knees. She was feather light as he lifted her – though that might have had something to do with the changes the Emerald had wrought upon him.

"I will lay her before you. We spoke about this but I will still talk you through it."

"She's so beautiful…" Zahra reverently whispered and reached out to brush her fingers against the Elf's glowing skin. She faintly trailed them down the Elf's cheek and the skin seemed to sparkle in the wake of the path her delicate fingers took.

"It will be your face soon." He reached out and closed his hand around her fingers, drawing them away. "Are you sure about this? I don't want you to feel as though I am pressuring you into anything and though you say that-"

"Shut up, Caelum."

He did. Simply because he had never heard her use such a tone. Zahra's purple eyes were serious and piercing as she looked up at him. That look nearly made him cringe away from the raw pain that was momentarily reflected there.

"I am slave to that bottle. Even now, at this moment… through its power, I am a slave to you." He opened his mouth to protest but Zahra ploughed on, "I have to follow your direct orders. Even though I trust you not to abuse that power… What if you lose the bottle?" She bit her lip and looked away. "What if someone horrible picks it up and I go back to what used to be? I am happy now, and I want to continue to be happy. I want to stay with you and Harry and I want to live something of a normal life. As long as that bottle ties me into being a Genie… I can't be any of those things. I understand that being an Elf is not normal either but I wouldn't be a slave. We're doing this. Get started."

He nodded. Closing his eyes the mage took a deep breath and slowly released it. Very, very slowly he began to unravel the shields he had built around his magic while still keeping his mind protected. It was excruciating work and he did not have too much time before his "problem" surfaced.

"_Zahra, I order you to possess this body._" The words echoed in the emptiness and beside him he felt the Genie's magic obey his command. It fluctuated like a sheet being compressed into a smaller and smaller form that then entered the still body lying on the sand bed. Just as Caelum opened his eyes he saw a clear violet aura surrounding the body. He drew in a sharp breath.

"Zahra, can you hear me?"

The lips moved. "The body feels dead."

"That's because it is. This might feel strange but bear with it, okay?"

Just as with Arcturus, Caelum let his raw magic flow into the body before him. It surrounded the Genie within and then seeped through her. He saw the body shudder as his magic worked its way through it but did not stop. Next: the organs.

Working with raw magic called for precision few people ever obtained. It was the ultimate method of preserving the body and causing destruction. A True Necromancer had to have mastered the manipulation of raw magic as it was the only existing thing that could preserve the dead and even bring them back to life – no matter how unorthodox those methods might be. That was what Caelum was doing right now. He was by no means a Necromancer but had studied the Forbidden Arts after seeing the results of Voldermort's experimentation and Apophis' armies of the undead. Fortunately he had also discovered a couple of books on Necromancy in the Black Family Manor. Without them he might not have been able to do this now – and even then he was shaping the ritual to better suit him.

Necromancers used symbols and sacrifices but Caelum's talent with raw magic allowed him to skip those steps and simply restart the body's function. He already had the spirit in Zahra and had no need to summon another. Now the only extremely difficult task was to bind the body and Zahra's life force together. To do that he needed to call for the Genie's most powerful magic.

"Zahra. I wish for you to merge yourself with this body. I wish it to become yours as though you were the one born into it. I wish for you to live in it and use it. I wish for you to be it."

Hearing the Master's wish the magic reacted almost violently. The Elf's – no, _Zahra's _– body arched off the ground and her mouth opened in a silent scream. To Caelum's Mage Sight it was as though a maelstrom of magic had just exploded out of nowhere right before his eyes. All colours imaginable seemed to whirl around them, some of them flowing through Caelum's magic into him and beginning to form the foundation for their bond. The others shot outward and bounced off the walls and the ceiling, rick rocketing in every direction.

The man reached for the athames and waited for the right moment. He was starting to feel the stirring within him but held on. He would not lose it at this moment. Not when someone needed him.

"There!"

For a tenth of a second the magic cleared away. Caelum brought the athame down, slashing diagonally over Zahra's heart while the other weapon was pressed against the palm of his right hand, causing him to bleed.

"Sanguinem Accipe."

He laid his hand over the wound on her chest.

"Mihi Sanguine. Fieri Black. Filia Black. Sanguinem Accipe. Mihi Sanguine."

Zahra screamed and her skin boiled as it would in a Polyjuice transformation. The silver hair slowly turned to the Black characteristic colour but it kept its sheen. The glow of the skin lessened and the tone became darker though not nearly as dark as Zahra's had originally been. The pointed ear tips turned rounder. There were also other changes, so miniscule that to a normal bystander they might not seem even changes at all. But the shape of her lips, the tilt of her chin… everything became slightly more human.

Caelum abandoned his watch over her for a few precious moments as he popped the wine bottle open and poured a hefty amount in the silver cup. The contents of the smaller bottle also ended up in the cup.

"Zahra, my daughter. I need you to drink this."

The lips moved slightly open and he poured the liquid into her mouth. Massaging her new/old throat to help her swallow, he smiled as the Bloodwine forged a connection between them. He had a daughter now. A daughter that carried his blood. Who was his heir.

He had never thought he'd have the chance to see his own children. Not since he'd realized his preferences and after having lost Severus to the war. But perhaps the Fates were willing to grant him some miracles for the hardships they kept putting him through. Zahra and Harry both certainly were worth it all.

A full blown tremor ran through his frame and something familiar inside him shifted. He clenched his hands into fists and spoke through gritted teeth,

"Zahra, by Heart and Blood, by Magic and Might, by Soul and Being… will you be my daughter?"

Her eyes opened for the first time and Caelum saw they had retained their purple colour. A small smile twisted at her full lips and she responded in a whisper, "With all my Heart and Blood, all my Magic and Might, all my Soul and Being… I am your daughter, Harry Caelum James Potter-Black."

A silvery glow surrounded them but Caelum did not see it. His body shook even as he began reconstructing his shields and drawing in his magic. The power was building in the air around him and as the final wisp of magic returned to him he closed the shields around himself and rolled away. The Staff appeared in his hand and he grasped it like a life-line in a storm. His breaths were coming out as raspy pants and sweat beaded on his forehead while the monster within him raged against the bars of its cage. He grimaced and forced himself to calm down.

"Caelum?"

He heaved himself off the ground and rolled his shoulders. "I'm fine. A momentary relapse. It's okay now."

"Oh."

The mage looked down at the girl who was sitting on the ground. She was wearing the white gown that had been on the Elf but with the slight changes to her appearance it seemed to stand out even more. He offered her his hand and helped her up. She stumbled and nearly fell but Caelum caught her.

"Sorry." She kept a hold on him as she slowly tried to get used to her new body. Suddenly she froze. "I can still feel the bottle and the slave bond." She frowned. "Though the bond we have is stronger."

Caelum caught himself staring. Zahra had been beautiful in her Genie form but the elf body took beauty to another level. She would pass for a veela if not for the dark hair. She would also pass for a twelve year old though a very mature one as the Genie magic had rejuvenated her. The mage wondered what kind of problems he would have in the future but decided worrying about that right now was not worth it.

"I will take care of the bottle in a couple of weeks. Moving sooner than that would compromise everything." He summoned the objects to him and sent them to non-space. Caelum winked at his daughter. "How about we go back to London to one very worried young doppelganger of mine and tell him that everything is alright and he can stop pulling at his hair?"

She grinned but stumbled again. Laughing, the mage Apparated them to London.

Behind them the glass of the coffin repaired itself.

oooOOOooo

"Master Snape, over here!"

Caelum had had to stop his body's automatic reaction at seeing this near perfect copy of his lover but lots of meditation and time spent with his children had readied him. He was as ready for this meeting as he could be. At least this time it was happening with his conditions.

"Mister Black." His voice was smooth and any hint of an emotion was completely hidden. Caelum motioned for the other chair, his eyes never leaving Severus. He noted the differences to Sev again but this time the shock wasn't as great. He was dealing even though hearing the deep voice again had emotion pooling in his stomach.

"Thank you for meeting me," he started as soon as the man was comfortably seated. "I know with the approaching start of term you must be busy."

"Quite," Severus drawled. Caelum didn't catch his smile in time and saw an eye brow arch in silent question. He ignored it.

"The reason I requested this meeting is the same I stated the first time we met – in those unfortunate circumstances. As my brothers' class mate you certainly knew them." The mage thought he detected a slight tensing in Severus' shoulders but kept going, "Regulus, especially, as he was in your House."

Dark eyes searched him for a moment and the waiter came to take their order during the brief silence. His skin was prickling and the desire to simply draw the man in his arms and kiss him to find out if he tasted the same was overwhelming. But he couldn't do that, not without an explanation. Patience was a virtue and he could afford to be patient. Even if, in the end, nothing came out of it.

"It has been a long time, and unfortunately my memories of your… _brothers _coincide with the war that I do not care to remember." Finally, and it was such a Slytherin answer.

"I understand." Caelum wondered how much he should say. "With my past I can understand the need to forget. But I am trying to know my brothers. The other died Marked by the Dark Lord-" That caused surprise to briefly flicker in the depths of Severus' eyes. Without knowing the man before him as well as he did Caelum would not have noticed. "-and the other sits in Azkaban, convicted of a crime he did not commit."

Severus did not disappoint. He put down his cup with just a little more force than was necessary and his face blanked frighteningly fast. Caelum kept his pose relaxed, not indicating in any way that he understood the impact of his words. He knew Severus was having a dilemma at the moment.

"You imply that… _Black_ is innocent."

A statement, not a question. Answers always cost something to Slytherins but now it was up to Caelum to answer. He didn't mind.

"Hmm…" He mulled over his next words and used the time to look around them. This was a nice little cafe-restaurant in Hogsmeade. The _Wizard's Wish _was family owned, the café consisting of the Ground Floor and the restaurant being on the First Floor. It catered to customers who valued their privacy and all tables had privacy wards around them. Not infallible but impressive nonetheless. Caelum had found out about the place from Lucius who had also been the one to arrange Severus and his meeting from the shadows.

"We Blacks value family," he eventually continued, ignoring the intense stare though it made his skin tingle. "No matter how warped those values become, they still exist. Sirius abandoned his birth family for another and then supposedly betrayed them as well. He would have been alone with the Dark Lord. From everything I've gathered, a man such as him would not have joined the Dark because of power. He would not have gone to the Dark Lord without telling his family and he didn't. Makes one wonder…" He noticed his tea was gone and put the cup down. Would this Severus take the bait? Knowledge such as this was important and Severus – no matter which – knew it. The man gave in.

"And Pettigrew?"

"If he didn't betray the Potters, someone else must have. And he goes after Pettigrew. Of course, apparently Sirius killed the man and lost his mind. So that is one crime he is guilty of even if it was done under mental pressure and quest for revenge." Caelum shook his head. "Too bad I cannot even get to see him. The Ministry got scared when I started poking and put a block on the case. Of course… I do not know any curses that would leave only a finger left."

He let Severus mull that over. With this he had done everything he could for Sirius legally. Harry would be gone in a week and Zahra could take care of herself so he was free to try and break the man out. But Severus in his world had been the Light's spy in the Dark Sect and had a habit of reporting to Albus Dumbledore before the old man's death. There was a small chance that the Potions Master would do so here as well and then Caelum might have the Chief Warlock and Supreme Mugwump playing right into his hand. It would even look better to the masses if Dumbledore was the one to get Sirius out.

Caelum might have hated the man but he also understood the value of political clout. Even though this was a long shot, he was not risking much by trying.

"But tell me… What makes a man of your talents settle for a teaching position when he could have been a celebrated Master in the Potions circles in Europe?"

"I thought this meeting was about your brothers," was the quick, nearly snarky reply. Caelum smiled slightly.

"Ah, yes. But in my new position as a governor I have to admit that getting to know the faculty of the school I govern is one of my perceived responsibilities. I have heard a rumour that you would rather teach Defence, as a matter of fact, and focus on your Potions research on your own time. Is this true?"

Severus had tensed in his chair at the mention of rumours before forcing his body to relax. Too bad even the most successful actors had trouble with controlling their shoulders. They were one of the most expressive parts of human body and there still remained some tenseness between Severus' shoulder blades. "Rumours are often born with specks of truth in them," was the Slytherin answer. Caelum settled for that. They waited in comfortable silence while the waiter refilled their cups and Caelum continued after he had left, "And Regulus?"

Severus' eyes seemed darker than usual which was a clear sign his thoughts were not on pleasant things. Usually the Gryffindors paid with detentions and points whenever his lover had been in this mood but he did not know this version of him well enough. It made him wonder and the need arose in him again. He squashed it mercilessly.

"Regulus was two years below me in Slytherin. He was everything a pureblood heir should be and filled the expectations of his family."

"He filled the role Sirius never even tried to fit," Caelum supplied.

"Quite." The long fingers were resting against the edges of Severus' cup. Caelum glanced at them but forced himself not to stare. So similar, yet so different.

"He was quiet, observant. He saw more than people gave him credit for." The older man paused to think. "I think I remember him enjoying Ancient Runes and Charms the most and he often helped people with them. I do not know anything else."

Caelum was slightly disappointed but he could hardly expect Severus to open his heart to him in half an hour. There was much work to be done on this front and he did not want to accidentally force Severus to clam up. He needed to play this safe because getting back into Severus Snape's good graces was difficult as hell if you'd already made a bad impression.

"I thank you for your time and everything you have told me." He wanted to find a way to prolong this conversation but Severus looked ready to go and there was nothing he could for him to stay that wouldn't be awkward. So he swallowed his desire and stood up. Severus followed his example. "It has been pleasant." And before his traitorous body could offer a hand to be shaken he bowed his head. He knew what would happen if he were to touch Severus.

"It has been interesting meeting you again, Mister Black." Severus also nodded and left, his robes pillowing behind him. He did not glance behind him even once and obviously expected Caelum to take care of the tab.

"That went as expected." He looked down at his clenched fist and let out a shuddering sigh. His magic was… _churning_ behind his shields, eager to reach out to the other man. It did not see any difference between their dead lover and this other version of him and Caelum had had to restrain himself. How much easier would life be if his magic was not nearly sentient due to the Emerald's intervention?

Leaving some Galleons on the table he made his way out of the café and Apparated to Grimmauld Place. There was much else to be done today.

Today was the day his family would be visiting Diagon Alley.

"Zahra! Harry! We need to apply the disguise and go!"

"Coming!" came Zahra's yell from upstairs, soon followed by a pair of feet pounding on the stairs and not three minutes after his yell was Caelum rewarded with a sight of his children.

They were going as supposed Muggleborns and had dressed for the occasion. While Harry was wearing faded blue jeans and a dark blue college shirt, Zahra had leggings and a white blouse on her. The sun hadn't shown itself yet today and the forecast had promised rain so the long sleeves were necessary. Both children had also gathered their hair out of the way – Zahra had a beanie and Harry a baseball cap.

"Pretty good." He smiled at them and offered Zahra a potion. "To change your eye colour and skin tone. I want no chances taken today." When Zahra's colouring had changed several shades lighter and her eyes had turned the same black Caelum's were at the moment, the man took out his newest wand and began casting. He wove several protections in the children's clothing as well as other charms that were designed to direct attention elsewhere. Nothing as strong as Notice-Not but more subtle in the way they encouraged the watcher not to pay close attention. He debated on the necessity of a glamour but finally added it on both of them. Only small changes but enough to separate Zahra and Harry clearly from their true selves.

"Wicked!" Harry breathed as he looked at Zahra and saw a completely other girl. Caelum quickly magically changed his clothes to fit with his charges' attires and wrapped the veil around his face after taking the potion to reverse his eye colour to their original green. Finally a glamour turned his face to that of a slightly older man with grey on his temples thought not the same man he had used with the Dursleys and Dumbledore. He grinned at the children.

"Shall we?"

The family of three took a cab to Charring Cross Road and went through the Leaky Cauldron. Tom had spotted them the second they walked in and kindly offered to open the gateway to them and directed them to Gringotts since it seemed obvious they were a Muggle family. Caelum politely thanked him and nearly walked into the kids as they had frozen on their spots before the sight.

The mage had to admit Diagon Alley became an increasingly busy place as the new school year approached. Everywhere he looked there were witches and wizards clad in robes and children in less traditional clothing. The mixture of colours and sounds exploded in his face the moment he passed the gate and it shut behind him. Fortunately there were a couple of Muggleborn parents and adults in Muggle clothes as well so he did not entirely stand out in the crowd.

"It's brilliant," Harry whispered, his eyes threatening to pop out. "Kind of like China but better." He cocked his head to the side and his fingers twitched. "Like the air itself is so filled with magic and memories that I could just breathe and see _everything_."

"Reminds me of the busy bazaars in my childhood," Zahra said, not caring that she spoke on top of Harry. Her eyes were glazed over, seeing so far into the past Caelum could hardly comprehend the time difference. She shook herself and proved that she had been actually paying attention to Harry, "But he is right. The magic is even in the air."

"Come on." The man took a hold of their hands and pulled them with him. "The magical concentration in this area has been so great over the centuries that magic has seeped even into the stones beneath your feet. The District in London is one the biggest magical sites in all of Britain. Only Stonehenge and Hogwarts top this place because they have both been built over the crossing of ley lines. Here the magic has accumulated as more and more magicals gathered here."

"The District?" Zahra questioned, not having heard this explained yet.

"Yes. There's Diagon Alley– the shopping district and then Knockturn that caters to the shadier side of society. Vertical Alley has cafés and restaurants and Floral Alley offers housing for the high and middle class and there are some impressive gardens as well. There are also smaller alleys that run underground and link the major streets and are much more specific in their selection but it is going to sound suspicious if you slip up and mention them in the future by name because most only know of the four big alleys. And the Magical Market."

"I had no idea magical London was so big."

"Most don't. To them it is a place for shopping and meeting friends while there are others that rarely in their lives leave the District because it offers them everything they need. Magical Londoners are a group of their own."

They had arrived before Madame Malkin's and Caelum shooed the kids inside before him. They had to wait for a while to get someone to attend to them but the assistants and Madame Malkin herself were quite efficient. Caelum remembered his first visit in the shop in this world and the way he had coerced the Madame to speak out of turn but refrained from doing so now. It had helped – if only a little – but it was also one little detail he did not think he needed his children to find out about.

What followed the uniforms were the trunks, cauldrons, books, phials, telescopes and brass scales. Finally Caelum sent the children to Ollivander's while he himself made his way to Eyelops Owl Emporium.

There really was an obnoxious amount of people about and Caelum had to twist out of the way of so many people that by the time he'd made it to the store, he was grumbling beneath his breath about the usefulness of certain curses in containing a crowd.

But once inside the man pushed those thoughts away and concentrated on finding what he was looking for. On Harry's birthday he had sent a letter and enough money to buy half dozen owls and reserved Hedwig. Except that now he was beginning to think that perhaps getting an owl for Zahra as well would stop any accusations of favouritism.

"Hello, how can I help you?" a man with an apron asked him, his round glasses making him look as owlish as some of the owls in the store.

"I'm here about a Snowy Owl I purchased a couple of weeks ago. I will also take that… Is that a Tawny Owl?"

The moment the thought about getting Zahra an owl as well had entered his mind, his eyes had landed on this individual. It was almost entirely cream coloured except for the deep brown spots on the tip of its wings and on its forehead.

"Ah. He's one of our own. Actually for VIP deliveries. If I could show you some other-"

"No. Just name your price." Caelum lifted his arm and sent a mental poke in the owl's direction. His dark eyes were soon on him and without a question the owl took flight and landed on his arm. He would be a good owl for Zahra and the air around him certainly reminded Caelum of the ex-Genie.

"Umh… I really- Well, if you insist…"

"I insist. Now, that Snowy Owl?"

In the end it had taken just fifteen minutes for Caelum to collect the owls, buy some treats and convince the shop keeper not to sell him any cages because, really, he had no need for them. So he was free to make his way out of the store and having a glaring owl on each of his shoulders worked as an excellent buffer against the people. The Tawny actually snapped his peak at several wizards that came a bit too close.

Yeah. He was definitely for Zahra.

Caelum couldn't exactly go into Ollivander's for fear of the man recognising him. If the old part-Elf could sense even through all his shields that he used a Staff as his channeler, there was very little Caelum could do to hide. He did not want himself to be connected to Harry in anyway and the kids had been instructed to act like they had just met on the Alley. But from what he could recall, finding his wand had been a long process and if this kept going Caelum might be in for a long wait.

It did take long and when Zahra and Harry eventually emerged both had very serious looks on their faces. Caelum took one look at them and decided that was the end of their outing. He could cook at home and he didn't need anyone accidentally overhearing their conversation.

He sent a mental image of Grimmauld Place into the owls' minds and watched them took off before reaching for his children and silently Disapparating from the spot.

"Citala, there will be two owls coming in. Can you go and guide them here, love?"

His hawk gave a screech and took flight. The mage had Apparated them straight into the kitchen and sat the kids on the chairs while he himself leaned against the counter. Kreacher was preparing tea on the background.

"I imagine this has something to do with your wand being the brother wand to the Dark Lord's?"

Harry nodded miserably and fingered his wand in his hand. Caelum could see the conflict on the boy's face and waved his hand to catch his attention. "These-" Two wands appeared in his hands. "are brother wands. They are the counterparts of my original world and you used the holly one when you shrunk the tea cup." He saw he had both their attention now.

"I have both of the wands and neither of them is evil. It is hardly the wand's fault for what kind of magic it is used. On top of that, I believe Ollivander is making a far too big a deal out of this. There are hundreds of brother wands out there, wands that have the core from the same dragon and unicorn. If one dead dragon yielded only one dragon heart string the species would have died out years ago." He sighed. "I didn't want to tell you about this yet but the connection saved my life a couple of times when I fought against Voldemort. Hopefully you never have to but the main point is this: the wand is yours." He turned to Zahra. "And you?"

The girl had taken off her beanie and shook her currently brown hair free. She pulled out her wand and laid it on the table. "Nothing much. None of the death and doom that Harry got." She looked up and met his eyes. "Ollivander knew what I was. What this body was. I thought he was going to get a heart attack but calmed down pretty quickly. The wand is a dragon heart string and elven wood, one of the few elven wood wands that he had."

"I knew it was a possibility. You did well." He bent over and kissed Zahra's forehead. Taking a look at Harry he saw that the kid was looking at his wand with a calmer air. He turned back to Zahra when the girl snapped her fingers before his face.

"There's just one thing that I really don't get," the Genie started. Caelum raised a brow in a silent question. "Why did I need to buy the Hogwarts equipment as well?"

"Ah." The mage smirked. "You'll see."

A/N: That is it for the time being. By the way, did anyone catch my foreshadowing? Cookies for the first right guess. And I know it's early but Happy Easter people! Remember to review :)


	21. Steady

Here I am again, finally settled back in Finland. Due to the continuing disasters that plague the euro zone it appears that I won't be getting a job this summer so I might actually have time to write some fanfiction. I haven't given up hope yet but we'll see.

But back to the story. There's been another long time between updates and I'm sorry. Life and moving between countries and other stuff kept my muse away and even when she decided to show up, my attention was on other stories. I think if all my writing had focused on Of Shadow, Shine and Shades the story would be finished already. Well, you can't fight the muse. This story, however, _will_ be finished. Hopefully as soon as possible.

On that note, I have to admit that we have not even reached the middle of my already planned plotlines. So there is more to come.

I would also like to thank 爱人 for inspiring my muse to start this chapter and Merula Aeolus to finish it. It is slightly short but I felt that I covered enough area and that the ending was good as it was. So here we go.

* * *

OF SHADOW, SHINE AND SHADES by dra6on

Chapter 20. Steady…

Children shuffled around him excitedly, their voices hushed from anticipation. The sight of Hogwarts majestic structure in the night with thousands of lights twinkling welcomingly in the distance had quelled most of their fears but had done nothing on the rush of anticipation that run through the eleven year olds waiting for their turn to be sorted. All around them hundreds of eyes were trained on the individual sitting the chair with a hat pulled over their heads.

Harry felt nauseated.

He and Caelum had travelled the busy bazaars of China's biggest cities, navigated through the crowded streets in busiest towns in Egypt and stopped by Tokio's greatest tourist attractions in Japan. And he felt pressured by the proximity of his future classmates.

Yes, he was almost having trouble breathing.

It didn't help that Albus Dumbledore, the man that had visited Harry's nightmares on a couple of occasions, was sitting just a few dozen feet away from where he was standing and his beady blue eyes were almost frantically searching for something. Harry had half hidden himself behind the bulk of one of the bigger girls but he still felt exposed.

This was one of the problems that Caelum had spoken to him about. He was used to being around adult figures and treated as one. Even if Zahra sometimes acted like a child, she exactly wasn't one. Here Harry would have to try and get along with his peers who were bound to treat him like a hero and teachers who saw him as an eleven year old kid. He held in a sigh. And the Sorting Ceremony would announce his name to everyone in the school, allowing them to recognize him instantly.

_What a wonderful tradition. Now if onlyI could get my headache under control._

Because Hogwarts was giving him a headache. The entire castle was so saturated with history that the images leaked through Harry's Occlumency shields even when he did not touch anything. He had almost been paralyzed by anticipation and fear when he had gripped the boat for support and his Clairvoyance had reacted. In the two seconds that his fingers had touched the worn wood he had seen thousands upon thousands of faces of students past. It had been even more overwhelming than the pyramids since at least those had been empty for a while. The boats were used yearly.

He had not even tried touching anything in the castle itself. He was afraid he'd pass out.

With growing feeling of unease Harry listened to the letters get closer and closer to P and his name. He could do this. Lower his Occlumency shields if he felt pressure on his mind, Caelum had said. It did not matter what House he ended up in, the mage had said.

The few people he had met on the train worried Harry slightly though he had to admit there was a part of him that thought of them as _just kids_. But if Su, Megan and Wayne did not want to spend any time with him in the future it was on them. He had already seen them all Sorted into Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff but… No buts. He would let the Hat Sort him.

"Potter, Harry!" McGonagall called out and immediately a hush fell over the Great Hall. Harry could hear the whispers and finally let out the sigh he had been holding in for the last half an hour. He took a step forward.

Every eye was riveted on him as he walked forward. His face was blank to keep his thoughts to himself, and he needed it when snippets of the whispers reached his ears. At that moment he was so, so grateful for Caelum for preparing him for this and taking him in in the first place. This would have been horrible otherwise.

Finally he reached the stool and turned to look at the students. A sea of curious eyes stared back at him until the rim of the Hat fell over his eyes and blessed darkness took over his sight.

That lasted about a second.

At the contact with his skin, the feel of past events that had been hovering just at the edges of his consciousness slammed into his mind with the force of a sledgehammer. Harry let out a pained gasp and gripped the stool for balance. In hindsight that was a mistake as direct contact with his skin strengthened his Clairvoyance. Harry's mind was bombarded by everything every student that had sat on the stool with the Hat on their head had ever felt, thought and done. His heart beat in rhythm with their fear and awe. He trembled as they trembled. Shivers of excitement ran up and down his back and beads of sweat formed on his forehead.

His heart hammered in his chest but not even Occlumency could save him as Harry felt a foreign presence slip through the just formed cracks in his barriers and tear them down from the inside. He held in a whimper that threatened to escape.

"_What have we here? Oh, dear. Just a moment, please."_

And it did indeed take only a moment for a sweet silence to fall on Harry's mind. After the earlier cacophony of the past the silence felt almost deafening.

"_That's better, isn't it? Sorry about that but I have a safeguard against all kinds of shields. I had no idea you would be harbouring other secrets as well, Mister Potter._"

Harry drew in a shuddering breath. The Hat's presence in his mind had a distinct feel and even as he "heard" the words, he knew it was going through his mind with speed neither the Master nor Caelum could match. It told him how powerful a thing he was talking with.

_Thanks for making it stop,_ he tried to be polite. _I didn't know my talent would become extra-sensitive in Hogwarts._

"_Quite so, quite so. You are magical by core and thus it follows you are more sensitive to magic. You are also very sensitive by nature and it has only been enhanced by Hogwart's ambient magic. But, we should really get to the Sorting._"

Harry steeled himself and released his grip on the stool tough the Hat seemed to be running some kind of interference between his Clairvoyance and his mind. His skin tingled where the Hat was placed but it was not an unpleasant feeling altogether.

"_You are very brave and loyal by nature but your courage is borne out of self-preservation and your loyalty is only for those close to you. You will defend a weaker party but running head first into danger is not your first instinct. After your change in company you have taken to studying and you love learning about magic. You also know the value of hard work but know how to manipulate your way out of trouble if there is need. My, my. What to do with you?_"

A sudden thought occurred to Harry. _This is all private, right? You're not gonna go and spill all my secrets to Dumbledore, are you?_

"_Everything between you and me is private. The purebloods would have otherwise insisted on another sorting method hundreds of years ago in fear of family secrets spreading._" The Hat sounded slightly insulted at the implication. "_Now, to be honest you would do well in any of the houses. You are going to grow into a very powerful wizard indeed and all Founders would fight tooth and nail to have you in their House._"

That sent a jolt of shock through Harry's system. They would have fought over him?

"_Quite so. Be that as it may, your talent in Knowing the Past and Parseltongue as well as the family you have gained quite generously tip the scales. I cannot with good conscience put you in Hufflepuff where the others' over-exuberance would only hinder you. Enthusiasm of youth, Mister Potter, _the Hat answered his unspoken question of what exuberance meant. _Neither can I Sort you Gryffindor. It may be your parents' House but I think your patience would be tested quite a lot in the House of lions. Ravenclaw or Slytherin, Mister Potter._"

The boy got the feeling the Hat was waiting for an answer and gave the only one he could, _Put me in the House where I will be the best I can be._

"_Hmm… Not making it easy on me? A word of caution, young Clairvoyant. Tread carefully and ask for help when you need it. SLYTHERIN!_"

Harry exhaled into the silence and removed the Hat from his head, his Occlumency shields immediately springing back into existence and wrapping his mind in a protective cocoon. He saw the shock on people's faces and felt it in the silence that had fallen in the Great Hall. _It's okay_, he told himself, handed the hat to McGonagall whose eyes had widened as well and started walking towards his House table. Hundreds of pairs of eyes followed his slow trek and it was slowly eating away at Harry's confidence. It was only after he had passed all the other tables that the Slytherins remembered to clap but it was nowhere near as enthusiastic a welcome as all other students had received so far.

He took a seat next to a boy whose name he thought was Nott. Careful not to let his skin touch anything as his Occlumency shields already had trouble with the bench, he turned his eyes on the table and took a deep breath. Whatever happened Caelum, Zahra, Syl, Citala and even Kreacher were on his side. They would help him with anything. And so he looked up and met the hundreds of eyes that were still staring at him. It was making him really uncomfortable.

Thankfully McGonagall seemed to remember her duties at that moment and called out the next name. As the Sorting progressed Harry could only hope the Hat had not been wrong. He had a feeling his time in Hogwarts was going to be a lot more complicated than he had thought.

oooOOOooo

Severus Snape was having the worst day in years. Potter, The Boy-Who-Lived, son of Gryffindor's golden couple and the hope in the paused war against Voldemort, had been sorted into Slytherin. Into _his _House. And now instead of spending the evening brewing his potions and _not _thinking of the Potter brat, an emergency staff meeting had been called and they probably would be discussing nothing _but_ the Potter brat.

Resolving himself for the next torturous moment, Severus opened the staff room door and stepped in. He appeared to have been the last one to arrive and anxious eyes greeted him. All of staff was present, including Filch and the half-giant as well. Even Trelawney had dragged her drunken self down from her tower, thought Severus suspected Albus had done most of the dragging.

"Now that we've all gathered, we may begin. I believe all of you know why I have called this meeting", Dumbledore began with eyes twinkling with worry.

"I dun' understand," the Gamekeeper sneezed. Severus' lips curled back in disgust. "How can Harry Potter be in Slytherin?"

"Albus, surely there has been some mistake?" Minerva McGonagall asked with a trembling voice. "He should have been sorted into Gryffindor! The boy's entire family's been there. Isn't a new sorting in place?"

The Headmaster seemed troubled. "I have already discussed the matter with the Hat. To a point it told me to bugger off or it wouldn't be performing the Sorting next year. It will not change its opinion about young Mister Potter. I am afraid-"

Severus found this the perfect time to cut in and remind everyone just how biased they were being. "May I remind you all that while Slytherin has a notorious reputation, not everyone graduating from _my _House turns Dark." He shrugged, disgusted with his next words but Slytherin loyalty won over his dislike of the boy's father. And he had a debt to pay. "It may well be that the Hat found it necessary for Potter to be sorted into a House that would give him _better understanding _of the powers that you all expect him to face in the future." Severus could care less that he had almost admitted his House was more dark than others. It was and everyone knew and expected it but just because of the prejudices he wouldn't let one of his snakes be kicked out of Hogwarts. Even if his snake happened to be a Potter and constant reminder of days gone past.

No matter that Potter held little resemblance to either of his parents. The hair and the eyes came from them of course but the brat held himself in a completely different manner and Lily's eyes had never held that look. In addition, the boy's darkened complexion gave hints as to where he had spent his time during those months he'd been missing. Apparently Egypt had not just been a short stop on his travels.

Everyone munched on his words but Severus could see they were not convinced. His respect for his colleagues was dropping dramatically not that there had been much to begin with. Were they really biased enough to judge an eleven year old _before even meeting him_? Even Severus wasn't, and he had a good reason for his expectations.

"I am with Minerva," Aurora Sinistra, Slytherin herself, surprised anyone."Potters have always been in Gryffindor. The _world _expects Harry Potter to be a Gryffindor. And you all saw how long the Sorting took! There obviously were other choices than Slytherin."

But did Potter argue against or for the noble House of snakes, Severus pondered. If it was against… He would know soon enough and Potter's life would become as hellish as he's just had.

Albus sighed heavily to get their attention and continued, "I see the truth in your statement, Aurora. But the situation is even graver than you all suspect."

Severus' eyes widened. Surely Albus did not mean to…

"The truth is," the aged Headmaster continued into the abrupt silence, "that Harry was abducted from his relatives last Christmas and has spent these last months with persons unknown. There is really no telling what has happened to him and how the influence of his recent company has affected him."

Several of the staff members gasped as the implications of such a happening occurred to them. The Potions Master stared at the Headmaster with narrowed eyes. There had never been any discussion of including the staff in the little secret that Potter had been missing. Now, only when the boy had been found, did Albus divulge that information and as a Slytherin Severus could only admire the manipulation even if his colleagues were falling for it. Well, it was not like he respected them much anyway.

"This is why Harry's placement is such a concern. He has a reputation as a hero but there are those who wonder what kind of powers the child possess for him to have defeated the Dark Lord when he did."

"S-surely y-you d-d-do not sug-suggest that P-potter might b-b-be-bec-become a-a… D-d-d-ark L-l-lord?" Quirrell seemed to be on the verge of fainting by just uttering such words and the man paled rapidly. Severus could not contain his sneer. The Mark on his arm suddenly tingled and he had to bite his lip to hold in a gasp. Some of his surprise surely showed on his face but he blanked it as quickly as he could. Quirrell…

"If there is even the slightest chance we are harbouring a future Dark Lord, we cannot let him stay and teach him magic. Our world has barely recovered from You-Know-Who."

"What do you suggest then?" Severus snapped. He and Sinistra got along with each other badly even on good days. "The boy's got magic, probably more than his bloody parents, and binding it is not an option."

"Why not?" Kettleburn asked.

"Because it would bottle up and probably kill him when he finally turns seventeen," Dumbledore answered in a tired voice and his words caused silence to fall to the room. Severus noted that no one wanted to be responsible for murder, even if they believed the victim to be a pending Dark Lord.

"The boy's future lies in darkness shrouded with mist," Trelawney said in a distant voice and Severus hid his tensing up. Fortunately everyone else only noticed the glance McGonagall had shot the Divination teacher. Their disagreements were common knowledge. The Potions Master kept his eyes away from the Headmaster, not wanting to subject himself to the annoying twinkle.

"Perhaps we should wait a week before judging the boy," he suggested, and added as an afterthought"Then you can decide whether or not to abandon him to death."

Knowing his words would at least make everyone think twice about Potter's destiny he left, more than ready to hex anyone that tried to come after him. Tomorrow the insufferable brats would again start filing to his class and he was certain Potter being in his House would bring even more work for him. It was going to be a hellacious year. And he needed to start it with the traditional House meeting.

_Potter._

oooOOOooo

The waning crescent shone its meagre light over the Forbidden Forest as the only mage to walk this earth wandered beneath its canopy of leaves. Not much light filtered through to the ground level but it was not a problem for the man. Two green eyes glowed with power though the rest of his face was covered beneath a dark veil. This hunter prowled the forest floor, searching for his prey, ignoring the other hunters that out of instinct knew to leave him alone.

Caelum quietly chuckled at the thought but it held some truth in too. He _was_ hunting. This was the fourth night he had spent in the forest. Four nights that Harry had been at Hogwarts and Zahra alone with _their _relatives or alone at Grimmauld Place and he was beginning to question his decision. The plan had sounded good in his mind but it depended on the Dark Lord's outing habits. Something that he had little to no knowledge of.

Too much of it depended on luck or Fate or whatever one wanted to call it. He did not even know that Voldemort was drinking unicorn blood this early in this universe but he had fallen into the ever-present trap of optimism. So many things were different yet even more of them were the same and he had trouble keeping track of everything. He could not simply throw everything he knew out of the window and start from a clean slate but still the differences were great enough for most of his preconceptions to be useless. And then there were the little things that were the same.

Ugh.

Caelum paused in his steps and closed his eyes. Sometimes the world spoke to you louder if you stopped looking and watching and simply listened and felt. He knew the Forest was Dark but he felt more at ease here than he did in many other places. He knew any creatures would give him a wide berth and he loved the feeling of untamed magic in the air. Hogwarts and the Forbidden Forest were situated directly above a crossing of leylines but in the castle man had been present for so long, the magic had changed. Here in the Forest that man feared, the magic had run wild.

It was in the air, in the trees and in the earth itself. It surrounded Caelum, pressing against his shields. And then he felt it a distortion. What he had had been looking for.

His eyes snapped open and Caelum crouched on the forest floor. Mage Sight told him only the ambient magic surrounded him, like sparkling dust floating in the air. With every breath he took, he breathed in magic.

The man began to move, his feet silent on the forest floor. He glided through the foliage like a Lethifold on the hunt, his instincts telling him where to put his feet. The forest around him grew silent as he neared his prey, sensing that something not only Dark was walking beneath the cover offered by the trees. Something evil had wandered into this Dark Lair and the creatures withdrew to their holes, waiting for it to pass.

The mage paused in the shadow of a tree, seeing a shape before him, prowling the forest and loud and heavy with its steps. He looked upon this version of his prophesied enemy.

Quirrell was, and always would be, a pathetic creature. Caelum knew it could not have been long since Voldemort had taken the wizard as a host but already Quirrell's magic was completely tainted by the Dark Lord's mark. Even in this weakened form the wraith had managed to completely take over the man and little remained. Quirrell was nothing more than a shell that still believed himself to be fully human.

He was condemned. No magic Caelum had knowledge of would let the man survive.

So he knew his game plan.

"Lovely night for a stroll, don't you think so?" he asked with a hoarse, gasping voice and stepped out of the tree's shadow.

Quirrell whirled around and whipped his wand out. Even only when he was turning Caelum waved his hand and the wand was ripped out of Quirrell's grip and sailed towards him. With practised ease the mage plucked it from air and the duel was over before it even began.

"Who are you?" the turban headed wizard demanded. His eyes were glued on the wand that Caelum was twirling in his fingers. Willow and dragon heartstring.

"A concerned citizen," Caelum rasped. He flicked the wand, forcing his magic through it and put up a ward around them. It was an all-purpose ward he had developed already against his Voldemort. Anti-Apparition and physical barrier not unlike Protego both tied together. An area ward and a single point ward co-existing.

It had been the first sign that Caelum had some talent hidden within him.

"What else could I be when the Dark Lord walks the halls of Hogwarts and no one is any wiser?"

Quirrell froze at his words, all masks completely forgotten. To Caelum's eyes the man's magic began to fluctuate dangerously as the wraith too reacted to his words. An owl hooted in a nearby tree and the Dark Lord and his host jumped in fright.

"Just an owl, Quirrell, nothing more," Caelum smirked. He had to admit, he like the feeling of power over Voldemort. He knew the risks of his plan but he also knew that he had no knowledge of Horcruxes in this world. He needed time to find them and to figure out a way to spare Harry's life. He needed Voldemort contained while he did that and letting the Dark Lord know there was another player in the game was a risk he would have to take.

"_What… do you… want?_" the Dark Lord whispered in a voice that was even more broken than the one Caelum was using.

The mage grew serious behind his veil and green of his eyes began to whirl with his magic. He did not answer the monster, simply held out his hand. From non-space Zahra's bottle landed on it and Quirrell took it in with a fearful stance. "W-what is that?"

"_Powers by powers_," Caelum chanted and the intricate runes of the bottle began to glow."_Force by force. Energy. Magic. Mind and Soul._ _May the Genie be free evermore!_" With a ruthless strike, Caelum sent his magic at the bond that still bound his Zahra to the cursed prison. He was defying the will of a god by his act but he did not intend to leave the bottle empty for long.

Like wisps of smoke the bond disintegrated before his eyes. He felt Zahra's surprise through their parental bond and he knew he had to hurry. As the last wisps vanished into the surrounding ambient magic, the bottle literally opened its mouth and its magic reached out. Caelum dropped it between himself and Quirrell and quickly backed away from the whipping strands of magic that searched for their lost prisoner.

With the magic of the bottle going berserk, his prey was attempting to escape. Quirrell was pounding against his ward with the desperation of a man who knew his death was nearing. Voldemort was screaming at him but the ward held true. "_You fool! Break it, break it!_"

Caelum sent a simple Stinging Hex at the bottle, catching its attention and then threw the wand away. Once more it sailed the distance between him and Quirrell and smacked the wizard at the back of his head right where Voldemort's nose would probably have been had the monster had such an appendage.

The angry magic of the bottle reached for the wand and found Quirrell.

"Aaaarrrggghhhh!" The screaming man was lifted by something he could not see or feel. His arms flailed desperately searching for something but there was nothing he could do. With the Mage Sight Caelum saw the wraith starting to separate itself from its host and he readied himself to capture it should there be need. But the magic of the bottle latched on the escaping sliver of soul and pulled it with it. The Dark Lord screamed in pain and the voice held true desperation.

Lines began to form on Quirrell's visible skin. As the bottle sucked the magic and soul towards its prison, the separation process that Voldemort had started neared completion and Quirrell began to die.

In his first year Caelum had come face to face with Quirrell and Voldemort in front of the Mirror of Erised. His mother's protection had saved him and he had watched Quirrell burn to nothing in front of his eyes. This death was different but just as cruel.

Life was sucked out of the man. As Voldemort desperately grabbed at anything to hold him out of the bottle, his host's life and magic were drained out of him. The skin turned grey and wrinkled, his eyes lifeless and cold. The skin stretched over the bones until the bones gave way and Quirrell crumbled to dust, the grey skin giving one last flap before it too disintegrated. Caelum looked up in time to see the magic of the bottle surround Voldemort's struggling and screaming spirit and nearly viciously dive for the mouth of the bottle.

And finally, silence fell.

Caelum's senses returned to him in a rush and he dispersed his ward, willing the magic not to return to him. It had been channelled through Quirrell's wand after all and the ambient magic would absorb it and his magical signature would vanish in a matter of minutes. With a sigh he took in the sight of a pile of dust and the bottle. Gently he picked it up and gave it a little shake. Distant screaming nearly brought a smile to his face but it was not over yet.

With one look around him the mage Disapparated silently.

He appeared in the middle of nowhere, snowy terrain stretching in every direction all around him. He was so far North, few men had ever been here. From an old map he had found that this island was actually called Itop but not much else. Here he had built the Dark Lord's prison.

It was a cavern in ice, warded with layers upon layers of impenetrable wards. Runes were carved and drawn in the ice itself while the floor was littered with traps for anyone foolish enough to take a step inside. Specified wards detected use of magic, movement and anything that Caelum could think of. It was as fool proof as he could make it and the only one able to access it was himself.

In the middle of the room was a pedestal upon which he placed a vase bought from a cheap Muggle store. It was inside the pedestal where he placed the bottle. With one last look behind him, Caelum tied the wards together and folded them out of sight before sealing the entrance behind him.

The Dark Lord was trapped.

oooOOOoo

Zahra Lycoris Black was bored out of her mind. No, that was overly melodramatic. She _knew _what being bored out of her mind felt like and this was just plain old bored. Still, it was something she would rather _not _be.

Her _Aunt_ was busy going over the table manner lessons that she had been forced to endure when Caelum went to hunt Voldemort. Lucretia had been more than surprised when she had been finally introduced to the next generation of Blacks formally but a little memory charm from Caelum had taken care of any repercussions the incident with the floo might have had. So when she was left with her new relatives, Lucretia had taken it upon herself to teach her the ropes of being pureblood, so to say.

Cassiopeia had taken a look at her, called her a bastard daughter of a bastard son and shut herself in her wing. Zahra was planning on poisoning her food the first change she got. Not fatally of course, Caelum would have a fit if she was caught.

"Are you listening, Zahra?"

She glared at the woman and gave her an insincere smile. "Of course, Aunt Lucretia." The puny witch had no idea who she was facing and the girl itched for the chance to make her see her own faults. The wand she had acquired to compliment her also newly acquired magical core twitched with her hand.

But Caelum would not approve.

Her entire world view had changed with the arrival of the mage, Zahra mused as the witch continued her lecture and she pretended to pay attention. It was a first for her, caring for someone as much as she did for Caelum. And Harry too.

She vaguely remembered her childhood. Her mother's face had vanished from her memory with the time but other sensations had remained as if they had been so ingrained in her being that not even thousands of years of maddening loneliness and servitude could erase them. The touch of her mother's hands as she brushed her long hair and the smell of their home was something Zahra would never forget, no matter how long she lived.

"You are clearly not listening."

Her eyes focused on the light haired woman as her mind resurfaced from past memories so distant her present company could never fit her view of the world to comprehend them. She was trying to teach her about forks and spoons and suitable conversation topics fit for _a lady of her status_ when Zahra had been dining with royalty when her ancestors had slept in the mud and dreamed of stone buildings.

Not that she would ever waste her time in trying to make Lucretia Black understand that.

"When is my father coming back?" she asked as fit for her supposed age. The "older" witch sighed gently, seeing her efforts to educate her as futile as they were.

"I am sure he will be here soon. Would you like to get ready to turn in for the night?"

She looked to the clock on the wall that told her it was nearing ten. It was late for a normal eleven year old and too late to be having lessons of pureblood etiquette. Not that Lucretia understood it. Zahra knew that she had lost her husband not long ago and suspected her interest in Caelum's "new daughter" was her way of coping with the loss. The elven witch cared, in fact, knowing the reasons only made her resent the situation even more.

"Sure." Short and simple. That's how you dealt with annoying "relatives". She only wished that Caelum would return sooner rather than later so that he could take her away from here. She wished she could use her powers to make Voldemort appear before the man but that was wishful thinking. Even without most of her powers she could feel the Fates' objection to that.

With a near silent sigh she got up and left the room to get ready for the night. She would wait for Caelum for a while and then probably fall asleep and dream. She loved dreaming now that she finally could, and thanks to Occlumency she was always in control. She could go anywhere she wanted to, be anything she wanted to be. It was worth being a human. And part elf.

It must have been nearing midnight when the Genie finally slipped between the covers of the bed in the guestroom. She had taken a nice long bath and then read for a while. She had a lot of studying to do until she could do all with wizarding magic that she had been able to do as a Genie.

She had just shut the light when it struck her. She felt the tiny portion of her that was still tied to her bottle stretch like a rubberband, all the way to infinity. Caelum's familiar magic accompanied that feeling and it _twisted._ Then it was over. The connection was gone and with it all that made her a Genie.

Zahra screamed.

It felt as though a black hole had opened up inside of her, sucking away everything that she was. Her magical core was trembling, trying the compensate for the loss of power. Her elven blood was boiling and trying to heal her when there was nothing left to heal. Her insides felt like they were being slowly scrubbed apart with sandpaper, causing her pain as rivulets of blood began to escape her veins and pool inside her. Something was pulling her apart and she knew she would die. She would die a meaningless death.

_I guess… Caelum was wrong_, she thought as her vision blurred and darkness rolled over the world like the fog from the sea. _You can't oppose the gods._

She closed her eyes and knew no more.

* * *

A/N: That's it. I'm not making promises about the future updates but hopefully you'll hear from me soon.


	22. Surprise!

Just finished this like twenty minutes ago. I am sorry about this summer but it seems that my muse has been really indecisive lately. I've been jumping between fics without really finishing anything all summer but fortunately someone's reminder that it was already August prompted me to at least finish this chapter.

I'm not making any promises about the future but I haven't forgotten you, my faithful readers, or my fics even if there are no updates to show progress. Quick countdown reveals at least twenty works-in-progress from at least three different fandoms. Maybe you'll even get to see some of those in the future.

Thank you for anyone who bothered to review. Lately I have been horrible at answering anything but I do read everything and sometimes wake up my little brother to squeals of excitement in the middle of the night when an especially nice review pops into my inbox.

Now, without further rambling, here's the chapter :)

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and no money is made with this.

* * *

OF SHADOW, SHINE AND SHADES by dra6on

Chapter 21. Surprise!

"Wake up, it's morning. We have things to do, Zahra." Caelum sat next to her daughter on her bed and put his hand on her arm. Morning sun was shining through the curtains, lighting spots of furniture and carpet in the room and the world had not seemed like a better place in a while. All of his plans were going well, Dumbledore was panicking about losing the Defence teacher so early on in the year and there was a governor meeting scheduled for this morning.

Most importantly of all, Zahra had almost recovered.

Watching his daughter lie in the bed his heart was gripped by the familiar uncertainty as week ago when he had returned from imprisoning Voldemort and found her comatose in her bed with Lucretia hovering about and casting useless diagnostic spells. He had snatched her in his arms and left for Grimmauld for much needed privacy.

He might have been Lucretia's Head of Family but the woman was a Macmillan by blood. One mistake could leak to outsiders through her. She would only keep this silent because all blame would fall on her if they found out his daughter was attacked while under her roof.

Finally alone he had had to repeat the blood adoption ceremony to strengthen the severely weakened familial bond they shared and then zap her with magic for three agonizing times until she returned to the world of living and conscious. Only to fall asleep right away, completely exhausted.

That night went on Caelum's list of worst nights ever. He had not dared to disturb her in fear of interfering with her elven magic's process of healing whatever hole the Genie magic had left when it had exited and, even so, feared that her magic would remain unstable. Her magic was now a unique mixture of human and elven magic with traces of the Genie magic much like Caelum's magic was a mix of his and the Emerald's magic now.

But that night was now behind them and Zahra had woken up the next morning only feeling weak but nothing worse. This week she had been magically restrained to her bed and Caelum had been running all over the place at her slightest whims. He was glad to do it if it meant she was feeling better and any ties to the nightmare that was her previous life were now broken. She was free from the slavery of her past. Now she needed to start living for her future.

"Mmmhh…" the girl mumbled against her pillow and Caelum chuckled.

"Get up. You need to pack. It's Sunday and if everything goes as planned we will need to be moving soon. Your clothes – the hundreds you had me buy this summer – are not going to end up in the trunks on their own."

His answer was an annoyed grumble but he knew from experience the girl would be up in minutes and left her to her privacy. "Kreacher." The elf popped next to him and bowed slightly. "Make sure she is up in half an hour."

The elf bowed slightly more reluctantly than before and popped away. He and Zahra still did not get along that well but there was very little that Caelum could do about it without giving them both direct orders. On the other hand the elf and Harry got along quite well.

The mage only had time for a cup of coffee that he spent with conversing Citala for a moment. His familiars both had been swept along with his crazy life for the past few months and he was grateful that at least the hawk wasn't taking her seclusion in England too harshly. Syl was better off anyway since he had Harry and Caelum both as options for conversation.

On that note, the man still had not figured out the secrets that Syl had or how Citala had known to find him. Both of them were far too smart even on a magical scale. But he knew their loyalties lied with him.

He knew they supported him… but could not be certain of other persons' stance. He knew today would be a trying day and he would have to be at his best to steer the governors in the direction he wanted them to go. The situation with the Defence post was sudden and he doubted everyone could make the meeting. That it was organized at Lucius' house yet again was unexpected enough. Though Malfoy always opened the doors to his mansion readily enough, it was all about the advantage. The blond aristocrat was always on his home ground and it intimidated the rest of the governors.

Caelum was counting on that. Having memories of brutally murdering Malfoy at least gave him the advantage – he knew he had survived the man once, and the man had not survived him. He also knew that Malfoy was careful about him and it presented a challenge.

At five to ten Caelum made his way to the fire place and flooed to the Malfoy Mansion. The fire place spit him out in the normal fashion but Caelum landed on his feet and a twirl of his wand Vanished the soot that clung to his dark blue robes. As he lifted his eyes, a familiar elf greeted him.

"This way, Master's guest."

With a nod Caelum followed. He kept a watch on his surroundings and on the outside seemed very relaxed though that could not have been further from truth. His insides were tightly wound with anticipation and nervousness. It helped that he had done this many times already and part of it was routine. Governor meetings and Wizengamot gatherings were the only instances when he involved himself in politics and after today he would hopefully have to give up the former. It was a small price to pay for what he had planned.

Dobby led him to a familiar room and he greeted the people already present in the room before taking a seat. This was such a hastily called gathering that barely half of their number had been able to take part and Caelum silently evaluated the people around him. Malfoy he could get to go along with him, as the blonde never passed a chance to stick it to Dumbledore. He was counting on that desire more than he wanted to admit but he could work without it. The _surprise _was merely for his own amusement.

Establishing himself as a power player in Dumbledore's eyes from the start was risky but after the Dementor incident anything else would only raise more questions. He was not foolish enough to believe he could fool the old manipulator if he was to stay under his watchful eyes for months at a time. Some things he had to give up to keep others secret.

Suzanne Little and Noira LaFolle along with Henry Clearwater he expected not to have too much trouble with. Little and Clearwater would jump at the chance to "help" Albus Dumbledore and LaFolle only wanted the best for the school. Samuel Lufkin and Fredyn Llewellyn he had no grasp on but he was confident in his silver tongue to get them moving in the right direction.

With an inward sigh Caelum got ready to play.

Politics was about impression, about words and about objectives. Everyone had an objective and anyone worth their salt had a personal twist on that objective. Minor players flocked behind major players knowing there was strength in numbers and with that the Wizengamot was currently divided in two parties that had very blurred lines drawn between them. Caelum had always thought that muggle side of politics was much easier to understand and in the Wizarding World he had always remained a standalone entity. His name alone had brought him the votes he needed if there happened to be a certain legislation he wanted to oppose. Still, with the wars taking his time he had always been a more passive presence. That trend had continued in this world which had been made especially easier with his current name and influence.

In other words, he could play the game but he was by no means a master at it like Malfoy or Dumbledore.

It was Lufkin that finally gave him the opening he had been waiting for. They had discussed the "curse" some more and shown appropriate concern about Quirrell. Little proposed that the man might still show up but she was shot down as any future "maybes" were not going to teach the children anything in the present.

Lufkin burst out, "It's ridiculous what this curse is doing to our school's reputation! The percentage for DADA OWLs and NEWTs has been steadily dropping in the past decades and now there aren't even applicants for the post!"

"There was another applicant," Caelum calmly intercepted and managed to shock the others silent for a moment. Lucius was following his train of thought and Caelum hid a smirk when a light lit up behind the man's political mask.

"Oh, yes," the aristocrat murmured in an absentminded manner that was a purely calculated move. "Severus Snape has applied for the post as well. In fact, he has done so for as long as he has been a Potions Master at Hogwarts."

Lufkin was playing beautifully in Caelum's hands as the still irate pureblood ground out, "Then give him the blasted post. We can find another Potions Master easily enough."

"I wouldn't know about that," Malfoy smiled. "Master Snape is one the youngest wizards to ever achieve a Mastery in Potions. I doubt finding another of the same level of competence is as easy as you make it sound."

Caelum spied Fredyn Llewellyn rolling his eyes. The man was young enough to have been taught by Snape and knew first hand just how the man handled restless children in a classroom. Thankfully, he did not comment.

"Furthermore, the number of Potions Masters willing to devote time to teach children brewing from scratch is not something easily found," Henry Clearwater put in thoughtfully. "My brother-in-law has a Mastery and, while he does commission work, his main passion is for experimenting. Even with the sullied reputation I believe it would be easier to find a Defence teacher."

"Nobody wants the job! A few of the teachers have _died!_"

Llewellyn looked disgusted as Lufkin lost the remains of his decorum and quickly took control of the conversation. "I for one would not even subject associates to the curse. I do not wish to incur a Debt to the remaining family."

That gave a pause at the rest of people in attendance. Truly, if they offered a job to someone downplaying the dangers while fully knowledgeable about the truth of the situation some minor Debt might indeed become an issue. Dumbledore must have had a silver tongue indeed to have evaded that all these years.

"So someone needs to volunteer for the job fully aware of the dangers. Whereas there would be no danger posed in accepting the Potions position," Caelum mused. Like Snape had done volunteered, but he refrained from pointing that out. The entire conversation had gone on better than he had expected and he had barely needed to steer them at all.

"Like that's going to happen." Lufkin snorted.

Caelum shrugged. "I volunteer."

For the second time he had managed to shock them into silence. After that followed questions, exclamations and grudging agreements. They had very few other choices and they all new that. An added bonus was that the number of Governors would return to the traditional twelve as a staff member could not be part of the school's governing organ. Also, Caelum managed to explain his offer with the lack of excitement in his life and by emphasizing that this was a temporary solution and next year the issue would be on the table again. Even the employment contract was only drawn for one year and Caelum worded it himself.

Not that he planned on it but there was no point sounding too enthusiastic about supposedly accepting a hazardous teaching position.

They wrote a letter to Dumbledore to inform him of the change and signed it before the governors made their way to the floo and began vanishing with flashes of flames. Caelum was the last, as he had planned, and turned to Malfoy when the last of their fellow governors had disappeared and left them alone.

"A moment of your time?" The mage let mischief twinkle through his normal mask and he saw the intrigue. When he explained the intrigue slowly morphed to surprise and then glee. In the end it was easy enough to get Malfoy to cooperate.

oooOOOooo

Without months of rigorous work on getting his Emerald enhanced abilities under control, seeing Hogwarts encompassed in a blinding sphere of protective magic would have caused a severe headache for Caelum. But thanks to that work he was able to clamp down on his Mage Sight and see the thousand year old castle as most saw it: a formidable structure teetering over the Black Lake.

Some part of him Caelum was vaguely aware of relaxed at the sight of his first ever true home. So many memories tied him to the castle and its numerous halls that it took some effort to stay on guard and alert. He considered Hogwarts his home ground above anything else and he had to remind himself that this place still belonged to Dumbledore who was considered a potential enemy. With that thought secured behind his Occlumency shields, Caelum grasped Zahra's hand one more time before letting go. He could already see Hagrid's massive form trotting to meet them at the gate.

"Yeh must be the new professor. Come in."

The half-giant pulled the huge iron gates open and beckoned them inside. Caelum traded glances with Zahra and they stepped forward. The moment the wards encompassed them, the girl gasped and her hand flew to her head. With the blood adoption she had inherited some of Caelum's sensitivity and while it did not yet manifest in vision, her sensitivity to magic was exceptional.

On the other hand Caelum felt the magic furtively try to get past his shields. It was as though snakes were circling him and constantly licking his skin with their parted tongues and the longer he let it go on, the tighter their hold on his body became. The man's hand glowed slightly as he called out his magic to be recognized by the wards and the power of the ancient castle washed over him.

The recognition ceremony over and done with, and Hagrid none the wiser, the Blacks followed the Groundskeeper to the Great Doors. The place was familiar to Caelum and he took great pleasure in watching Zahra's critical eye going over everything in sight. She appeared to deem the place acceptable and glared when she noticed his eyes on her.

"I guess it'll do," she shrugged and the man grinned down at her. Hagrid glanced back at them but the giant stayed uncharacteristically silent. Caelum had to wonder if it was on Dumbledore's orders or if the half-giant simply held Sirius' supposed crimes against their entire bloodline. Not that the Blacks had a clean reputation even without the added crimes of the Marauder generation.

"This way," the giant guided them as they stepped inside. The space opening before them was enormous and Caelum took it in with a small smile on his lips. The last students leaving dinner in the Great Hall were staring at them curiously but Caelum ignored them with practised ease. He felt Zahra draw into herself at the sight of others her supposed age and hoped she would end up in Slytherin. It would be easier for her and for Harry when there was already someone they could rely on. Though they would have to fake the early friendship stage when there was someone else around.

After numerous more staircases and more stares from students and portraits they arrived in front of the gargoyle. "Liquorice wands," Hagrid muttered. As the staircase began rotating, the giant of a man turned to them. "That's Professor Dumbledore's office up there. The headmaster's waitin' fer yeh. I gotta go check up on the thestrals."

Caelum mentally shrugged at the man's utterly bizarre behaviour and motioned Zahra to follow him as he climbed the stairs to what he now considered the den of the enemy. His shields strengthened as he raised his hand to knock on the door, only to be rebuffed when a grandfatherly voice called out, "Do come in, my boy."

He had forgotten how much he loathed that moniker.

The door opened without a sound and Caelum stepped into the clustered office Zahra following close behind. His eyes quickly took in the whirling instruments of which quite a few stood still, the bookcases overflowing with thick volumes, the phoenix quietly sleeping on the perch and lastly the white-bearded master manipulator sitting behind his desk. He forced himself to perform a slight bow.

"Headmaster Dumbledore. It is a pleasure to see you again." Not, but that did not show on his mask of curiosity and calmness.

"You too, you too, Mister Black." The twinkling eyes turned to Zahra and Caelum suppressed the desire to step between them. "And who might this be?"

"Forgive me." He waved Zahra to come stand beside him. When he touched her shoulder he felt the tension that she hid masterfully but not perfectly. "This is my daughter, Zahra Black. She will need to be enrolled and Sorted."

There was a flash of surprise in the blue eyes but soon Dumbledore was beaming at the girl by Caelum's side. He felt the slight shudder that ran through her frame and stomped on his urges to whisk her away from Dumbledore's vicinity.

"Of course, my dear. Hogwarts is happy to have you! If you don't mind me asking, how old are you?"

"I am twelve," Zahra said expressionlessly though her purple eyes shone with defiance. Caelum doubted the Headmaster was reckless enough to try Legilimency in his presence but Zahra had caught his attention.

"Our starting age is eleven, I'm afraid. Tell me, have you had any previous schooling?" Dumbledore seemed content to keep the talk between him and Zahra for now and the girl looked up at Caelum's black eyes before nodding.

"Father has taught me." She pressed her lips together in a way that told Caelum her limited patience had just been used up and put in,

"I had planned on homeschooling her but with the teaching position there was no point since I was going to be living in Hogwarts after all." He smiled but knew it came out more as a smirk. "She is very talented and I believe she will fit right in with the second years."

Dumbledore smiled as though nothing would please him better. The old man rose from behind his desk and went to get the Sorting Hat from the self. In no time at all Zahra was seated and the Hat was placed on top of her head. Caelum waited in the seat next to her with baited breath. The Hat would know about everything but that was a calculated risk and one he could do nothing about.

"SLYTHERIN!" the Hat called out and both Zahra and Caelum let out simultaneous breaths of relief. Dumbledore's beaming smile never faltered though the twinkling of his blue eyes slightly dimmed when the man took the Hat back to its position on the shelf and turned back to them.

"The teachers will need to test you, my dear. I think it might be best that you stay with your father in his quarters tonight and we can test you tomorrow during lessons." It sounded like a proposal but was nothing if not an order and the aged wizard moved to other issues right away. "There is a teachers' meeting in half an hour so that we may introduce you to the rest of the faculty. We just have time to take a trip to your quarters before that. If you'll come with me."

They'd already been picked for him? Caelum smirked on the inside at the Headmaster's attempt at controlling him and seeming agreeably followed the old wizard out of his office with Zahra on his heels. Still, as long as they were not in the dungeons he would adapt. As long as he did not get the quarters he used to share with Severus.

That was not the case. The quarters were on the west side and ones Caelum only knew vaguely from before. A painting of Circe guarded the entrance that opened into a large sitting room. The setting sun lighted the room through the two windows opposite of the entrance and the corner on their left held a small kitchenette. The fireplace sat on the left as well but otherwise the room was completely empty. Three doors on the right possibly led to two bedrooms and a toilet.

"I hope this is to your satisfaction." Dumbledore swept a hand around as if he was presenting them with quarters fit for a king. Caelum could not help the twitch on his eye.

"I'm sure they'll do fine. Zahra, the first door on the right. No magic until I'm back."

She made a small face but nodded nonetheless. He was sure there was nothing but a bed in her room if even that. And he really would have rather settled in peacefully with his daughter but there were things to do.

Such as pulling one over Dumbledore.

The Headmaster asked him questions about his schooling and previous experience on the way to the teachers' lounge and Caelum gave as roundabout answers as he could while trying to relax under the scrutiny of the portraits. No, he did not have Masteries but he had been taught under Masters. Who? They had already passed. Yes, He was looking forward to teaching classes. No, he wasn't nervous; after all, he was raising a daughter and had taught her. Yes, she was quite talented and would fit right in with the other students.

They luckily arrived at their destination when the old coot started on asking about his experience with Dark Arts and their Defence.

Everyone else had arrived already and Caelum let his eyes sweep over them as Dumbledore went over the welcome tripe. McGonagall, Hagrid, Sinistra, Flitwick, Babbling, Vector, Binns, Kettleburn, Sprout, Hoot, Filch, Pince, Pomfrey… and Severus sitting around a big wooden table. The mage forced his eyes to turn to Dumbledore before anything showed on his face.

His meeting with the man had only gone as well as it had because of hours of meditation where he had methodologically separated the memories of his lover from the expectations for this Severus. It had worked – mostly. Now it was as though he'd been dropped in the middle of a masquerade where the theme was his friends and acquaintances and he was expected to see through their masks to the strangers underneath.

"-and take on the duties of Defence Against the Dark Arts professor beginning tomorrow." Dumbledore smiled at the hushed audience. Oh right, that was his clue.

Raising his brows in surprise and ignoring the polite clapping from his colleagues, Caelum cleared his throat. The teachers quieted down. "I'm sorry?" He couldn't pull of an innocent look, not with these people, but they did buy his surprise. Time to drop the bomb. "I am not here to take on the Defence post."

It might have been comical how fast Dumbledore's face lost the smile but just as fast it was back. The staff members murmured silently in confusion and Caelum had to bear the brunt of their suspicious glares. He kept his eyes on Dumbledore and had changed the look of surprise to polite confusion.

"Whatever do you mean, my boy?"

Caelum's eye twitched at the moniker again but this would oh so satisfying that he could keep his irritation in check. "There was another applicant for the Defence post," he pointed out as he had in the governor meeting. "I am here to teach Potions."

A pregnant silence fell in the room and Caelum saw the satisfying look of anger flash on Dumbledore's face. Oh, they could have told the coot in advance but the aged wizard would have done everything in his considerable power to keep his Potions Master in check. For the same reason Caelum and Malfoy had kept the governors in the dark. With Little and Clearwater in attendance, Dumbledore would have known the same night.

Turning his eyes from the Headmaster to Severus, Caelum's only regret was that even informing the dark-clad man had been impossible. Dumbledore would no doubt interrogate him and he had to be able to completely deny his involvement in the ruse. Caelum and Malfoy would take the blame but Severus would owe them.

Plan Seduce Severus: Stage 1 – accomplished.

Before Dumbledore could regroup Caelum continued, "The board of governors has decided with majority that the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor this year will be one Severus Snape who was the only other applicant. Since the Headmaster failed to produce another teacher within a week, the right of selection is transferred to the board. I volunteered to take on the duties of Potions Professor for the remaining school year to avoid any further problems in the children's education."

"And what-" Severus' voice was chilling, "-are your qualifications for that post?"

Caelum braced himself and turned his black eyes to look at the man. The familiar face that greeted him was devoid of any emotion and the eyes were like two black holes that sucked on the light of the room. He was Occluding. "I was taught by a Master who has already passed on and I received the highest mark in the Australian Ministry tests on Potions. Also," he glanced at Dumbledore, "I will not take on the Defence post. I am a warrior. With Potions you either get it right or you don't and then you keep trying until you do. With Defence I simply cannot change my expectations to fit the level of, say, first years." Of course it was a load of bull but they did not need to know that.

"I see." Only by knowing the man's face as well as he did could Caelum catch the small smile that twisted the lips for a fraction of a second. When Severus turned to look at Dumbledore his face was again the mask of indifference. "I have no problems with this arrangement."

Dumbledore frowned and leaned back in his seat. Caelum was still standing at his elbow and decided to stay there until the faculty members were on his side. They did not have a choice and he would refuse teaching Defence till the end. Their first priority was the children and this was the easiest way solve the problem.

"The students have already missed a week on Defence Against Dark Arts," McGonagall – Caelum tried not to think of her as Minerva – pointed out. "It would be unacceptable that both Defence and Potions had problems. Won't you reconsider, Mister Black?"

"It might be difficult for the OWL and NEWT students if the teacher they're used to have in Potions changes as well. At least they're used to changes in Defence," Filius – Flitwick! – put in.

"I am confident in my abilities." When they were about to protest again and others were joining in as well, Caelum raised his hand. "Let me explain. I do not use incantations. I _rarely _use wand motions, never in schoolyard hexes and jinxes. The time needed for elaborate movements might cost you your life in a battle and I was trained to silently point-cast. The students… they don't have the… the familiarity with their magic that I have and I might simply teach them wrong. Very few have the power levels necessary to learn point-casting." He shrugged at their stunned faces. "I might know a lot about Defence but is that worth sacrificing the practical aspect?"

If only they knew… He had been the Defence teachers for years in his original reality and he knew how to deal with Hogwarts students and curriculum. While the war was going on and before Sev's death he had been even planning on making several reformations in how the school was run. The curriculum had been horribly cut down in the last few centuries and Ministry had gained far too much say in Hogwarts business. He had even been making plans about reforming the board.

"It seems you and Mister Malfoy have thought this through well," Dumbledore put, calling everyone's attention to him. When Caelum failed to react to the assumption, the old coot smiled at the Potions Master. "If you truly do have any objections, Severus, who am I to stand in the way of the governors' decision. Starting tomorrow you will teach Defence and Mister Black will take over the Potions teaching."

Even Dumbledore recognized a losing battle when he saw one. It occurred to Caelum that the Headmaster might have been banking on the curse to ensure Severus' one year long Defence career and next year he'd have another applicant for the Defence post lined up. There was time… and Caelum had Malfoy on his side.

"We need… oh, yes." Dumbledore swirled his wand and a chair materialized between Vector and Sinistra. The two witches gave Caelum smiles as he took his seat. "Where was I? Oh, Professor Black's daughter has been Sorted into Slytherin and will make take a moment of your time tomorrow so we may test her placement."

"Is there a problem with it?" Severus asked as any good Head of House should.

"Professor Black has homeschooled his daughter and she is twelve years old. We simply need to make sure she is advanced enough for second year."

"And what have you taught your daughter?" McGonagall questioned. All attention was once again on Caelum and he nodded slightly.

"She has done some Transfiguration and Charms as well as Runes and Arithmancy. She knows the principles of potion brewing though we haven't practiced that much. She might be behind in Herbology but she is smart."

"And Astronomy?"

Caelum honestly did not know but he doubted a person could stay on this earth thousands of years and not know the stars. The question was: did Zahra know them by their English names or by her native language?

"We haven't covered that but her mother might have."

"You do not know?" Sinistra continued her questioning.

Time for some more lies. He could try to still keep their supposed past quiet like he had all summer but an explanation would keep people from hounding Zahra. "I had not seen her mother since before Zahra's birth. I was only contacted after she died and Zahra had no other relatives. I did not even know she existed." He continued despite the scandalous gasps, "Zahra is twelve and I am twenty-six. Do the math."

"Oh, the poor girl. To lose her mother so young," murmured Sprout. She earned one of Caelum's genuine smiles for her comment. He knew her concern was genuine and not borne out of misplaced pity.

"She is strong." Caelum's tone invited no more discussion on the matter and they quickly decided on a Zahra's schedule for the day. She had tests for Transfiguration, Charms and Defence in the morning and Herbology and Potions after lunch. She would join the sixth year NEWT students in the evening for the Astronomy lesson.

Because they just had a staff meeting not two days ago, there was little more to discuss. As people began to disperse Caelum heard Dumbledore invite Severus to his office. He quickly intercepted the duo. "My deepest apologies, Headmaster, Professor Snape, but I would very much like to see the lesson plans for Potions. I understand Professor Snape has an even greater challenge ahead of him since this was dropped on him so suddenly."

Dumbledore smiled at him benevolently, eyes twinkling. "Oh, of course. Then, Severus, might I bother you tomorrow morning before breakfast?"

The tall wizard nodded stoically. "Of course, Headmaster." The black eyes turned to him and a long fingered hand motioned to the door. "After you, Professor Black."

The dark, smooth voice washed over Caelum like warm water and he quickly hid his shiver. The man might not have been his Sev but his voice was the same and the mage could not help his automatic reaction. And sensing the familiar yet strange presence behind him as he stepped out of the Faculty Room was almost relaxing.

Time to raise shields and bring his mind back to the present. This was not his Sev and it did no good for him to relax around the man because… _Snape _would take advantage of every sign of weakness that he displayed.

"Which way, Master Snape?"

The Occluded gaze passed over Caelum and the taller man took the lead. The mage lengthened his strides to keep up with the newly appointed Defence Professor and kept the mask on his face while under the close scrutiny of the portraits on the walls. He briefly hoped Zahra had not found some trouble already but he had to give her some leeway eventually and the girl would not appreciate him hovering over her shoulder all the time.

Severus did not talk at all during their long walk to the dungeons. It was already late enough that they only came across a few of the older students who all scurried out of the way at the sight of their feared Professor and Caelum supressed a smirk. The aura of intimidation was so familiar to him and he knew how his Sev had enjoyed manipulating the students. The man's reputation was what it was exactly because he wanted it to be that.

They eventually arrived at the man's office in the dungeons where Caelum was dumbed with a foot high pile of parchment. He took one resigned look at it, whipped out his wand and compressed it all into a book with a swish.

"I take it this is all of the years?" Caelum asked and he was treated to a very condescending look. He knew what Severus was trying to do but he refused to be intimidated. So while the Potions Master sat down without inviting him to take a seat and glared at him with those bottomless, Occluded eyes, Caelum remained standing in a relaxed stance and took in his environment.

There were familiar and not so familiar jars of rare Potions ingredients on shelves. Most of them could be used only in two or three potions and some of them had already been outdated. Still, they were a sign of prestige in Potions community and Caelum knew his own office would also have to have some ingredients on display. He was also aware of the fear factor in displaying gruesome creature parts in jars.

He noticed the slight twitch on Severus' brow and gave him a look that told the Slytherin Head of House he knew what he was trying to do and that it was not working. Narrowed eyes glared at him and Caelum couldn't help the chuckle that bubbled free. He loved the little games he used to play with Severus and even having a weak substitute made him feel slightly giddy and playful.

But it would do him no good to spring that upon Severus at this point.

"Plausible deniability." The mage shrugged and continued his scrutiny of the jars. The silence dragged on but Caelum kept on feeling giddy and stealing glances at the sitting man. There was a pensive air surrounding him and finally he deemed to say something.

"Lucius should fight his own battles." It was a clear assumption, and a wrong one at that but it wasn't on Caelum to set the man right. Not yet, anyway.

"Then again…. you get what you want and Lucius pulls one over Dumbledore. Hardly a bad deal, I'd say."

"I would have appreciated some foreknowledge if you were going to be involving me in your plans." Oh, the sneer.

"Master Snape." Caelum gave him a level look and only got suspicion in return. The man sighed and finally took the seat, still uninvited. "There were no decisions made before yesterday. I have spent the entire today packing my belongings and readying my daughter. I'm sorry that the school wasn't informed in advance," _Not, _"but if you were willing to half-admit to a total stranger that you would rather teach Defence, I think going behind your back was worth it."

"And what would you want in return?" Severus asked with his most freezing tone and understanding lit Caelum's mind. Oh, that was just so _Slytherin, _and he knew he needed to give an acceptable answer.

"Simply your support as a colleague for now. Besides, I don't know how big of a favour I have done you considering the post's recent track record." He shrugged in feigned nonchalance. "You're the one applying for a cursed position." From the glower that seemed not to be enough so Caelum took a risk. "Then there is of course the matter we also discussed the last time we met. Am I correct in assuming you did not mention it to the Headmaster?"

A flicker of confusion disturbed the thorough blankness of Severus' Occluded eyes and Caelum raised a brow. He let a small smirk show. "I seem to have hit a dead end concerning by brother. A dead end someone with the power of Supreme Mugwump and Chief Warlock can easily slip past and I would like to see if the Headmaster will even attempt it. And I doubt it would bother you to have Sirius owe you anything." The mage snapped his mouth shut before he revealed he knew far more than he should about the matters of the past.

The dark eyes stared into his for a few long moments as the Potions Master processed everything he had said and evaluated the gains and losses in the trade Caelum was proposing. There was a very small shift as part of the tension flowed out of the man's body and his shoulders relaxed. It was a deal.

Still, Caelum waited until the nod to show his own agreement. It would not do to put Severus on his guard. Knowing the man as well as he did was a great boon to his plans but he did not need to _Severus _knowing that.

On the way back to his room after bidding goodnight to the stoic man, Caelum let out a small sigh. Everything was where it was meant to be and as exhausting as playing the games was, he was glad he had not lost his touch. Malfoy was an ally, Dumbledore would – might – do his work for him regarding Sirius and Severus was at least tolerating his presence. Harry and Zahra would get a proper education and Caelum had time to find the Horcruxes during the Dark Lord's imprisonment.

Everything was going according to plan.

The mage looked down at his hand where the compressed book of Potions lesson plans weighed and some of his good mood evaporated. Right. Students.

Well, starting tomorrow. Now he could just relax in the success of his plans.

* * *

A/N: And we are at Hogwarts. Next time: lessons.


	23. In with the Old

Hello faithful readers!

So, I know I didn't make any promises about updates but even I didn't expect it to take this long. And there is one simple reason: LIFE. I moved into a new place, started second year in uni (which is way more work-loaded than the previous) and I got a job. It takes me ages to travel between places so whatever time I would have had for writing was usually taken by trying to maintain some semblance of a social life. And being so busy practically killed my muse for a while.

Fortunately Christmas revived her and I managed to start writing again. I hope you enjoy the chapter and that it is worth the wait. Again, no promises about future updates. Sorry, but the new trimester promises to be just as busy.

I would also thank my reviewers:

**Redribin, Bobette13, T-Kuchiki, Guest, midnightblupuppy, rdeen1952, n.n, Wyrdsmith, ArainaR, Yaoi's Lover, AmbivalentAngyl, Vaettr, ak, Phenix, Calemirneth Evan Potter-Snape, GoGo Coupon Girl, Yuval25, sesshoumaru4me, Anaelisa, Sarah.A.A, Moonstone blaze, johfra, Nici Barru, EmLights, Mashkai30, LdyGossamer, kingstonavery, random, mangalover, MystereRaven, Choocolate, NightStalkersRevenge, MargaritaS, jetrois, al, Rubik's cube, Reader-anonymous-writer, Shadow Eclipse, Niya, deanec64, atymer, Chronos guardian, Vaughn Tyler, Daddy's little cracy bitch, x-marks-the-spot1974, rainlele, Robyn Lee Swan, Quynce, SoulMore, random yet lovable, RRW, serenityselena, Balos, musme, Harriverse, Fuyutaro son, Dark Neko 4000, Fire-Metal Horse17, Nocturnal Rose, Forever Reading aka meg, jicalazuxil, Lunalover009, Kanberry, VaroSev, da-blk-saiyangirl, Norven, DarkRavie, sunsethill, dogsby, phoebe turner, mindgameplay, LunaStorm, kentai18ancilla, sev's-sexy-mistress, BadGirlgoesworse, doodle808, DandelionKing, TearfullPixie, GreeonOnBlack, Serpent91, StValentineSt, Barranca, Um...Someone, gail19, SeverusDmitri18, Gladoo89, cara-tanaka, Fyreheart, ni-de-ai-ren, Lientjuhh** and** skidney**

There were a couple of questions. Someone reminded that the Marauder's Map is a problem and I thank that person for the reminder :) Another also challenged Arcturus' death and I can just say that I consider it common knowledge that the Blacks' inbreeding shortened their ages. I was following canon as to the time of his death and tried to give it a natural cause.

Some have also complained about the slow pace and I can just say that it is my style. I like to go with "showing" instead of "telling" because it gives the story more depth. In an ideal world you'd read the story in its entirety and all the small details and quirks that I write in it would make sense in the end. Unfortunately I do not have time to finish this at once.

And, the link the Caelum's fake family tree is up on my profile. I think I accidentally put Helen Miles down as Diana Miles and I'll change that at some point. Some of the dates might also be wrong. I was working off old notes when I finished it.

But for now, enjoy the chapter :)

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and no money is made with this.

* * *

OF SHADOW, SHINE AND SHADES by dra6on

Chapter 22. In with the Old

It took Caelum five minutes of lying in bed before he realized what was different. Around him the magic of the ancient castle hummed with a familiar tune and the air smelled of something that was uniquely Hogwarts. There was nothing threatening here, nothing to unnerve him.

He had had his first good night sleep in… forever, really.

And it was all because, no matter the dimension, Hogwarts was his home, second only to Severus. And even some version of the snarky Potions Master existed and lived here and so Caelum had slept like a baby all through the night, only to wake up at the crack of dawn as had always been customary for him in Hogwarts. He was utterly relaxed and for a fleeting moment he could imagine turning on his side and being enveloped by familiar arms.

But that moment passed and light caught on his tattoo, casting a flicker on the wall. No, it was not the past but something that _was _old and familiar yet new and exciting all at the same time. He was something new that was borne from the mistakes and experiences of his past. Would the past him have welcomed a stranger into his family? And if he hadn't, Zahra would have been left living a life unimaginably horrifying.

Speaking of his daughter, Caelum could sense her pulsing magical core in the other room. There was something peaceful about knowing his daughter was alive in the room next to him and he could live in the castle that he loved most in the world. Hogwarts was home even in this strange new form that he was to come to know it and he hoped that one day Zahra would see it that way as well.

With the eager giddiness that had not vanished even overnight, Caelum threw his covers to the side and got out of bed. His arms reached towards the ceiling as the man stretched and heard the satisfying pops from his spine.

"_Too early…_" he heard Syl mumble but only grinned and nearly hopped to the main room. His eyes were shining with excitement so powerfully it even rivalled the shimmer of his silvery tattoo. Now, to fix the place up…

By the time one sleepy headed girl emerged from her bedroom, rubbing at her eyes, the small apartment had gone through such a total transformation that some of it even slipped past her lethargy and she did a double take.

"What's this?"

Zahra took a curious look around and Caelum smiled at her. The nearly barren quarters had been transformed into something that to him screamed home. A long brown couch sat in front of the fireplace with a glass table between them while two recliners were set in front of one of the two windows with a table in the middle.

The kitchenette to the left from the entrance now sported a counter and yet another table, this one round, stood in the free space between the kitchenette and the couch with high-backed chairs surrounding it. The sliver of wall between the toilet and Caelum's bedroom door held host to a small altar with two lit black candles, a bowl of water and a dagger on the wall. Every other free wall-space was taken over by shelves and shelves of books and various items. Warm coloured rugs were scattered all over the cold, hard stone floors.

But none of these were the dominating feature of the quarters. No, the first thing Zahra's eyes took notice of were the green vines climbing in the boundaries between walls and ceiling, floor and walls, and corners of walls. Her eyes followed the never-ending loops of green leaves that changed from one plant to another without a single regard to natural order. Caelum waited with baited breath.

"They're for the privacy wards, right?" she finally guessed, her purple eyes casting towards the altar, "and that's the central point. Blood wards?"

"Yes and no. Dumbledore's curiosity knows no boundaries, but we need something more than blood wards to keep him at bay. Earth of protection herbs, Fire of candles and Water in the bowl with Life completing the cycle when blood is sacrificed." The man shrugged but he was practically vibrating with excitement, and light danced merrily in his currently black eyes. "I would have liked to add Air but Fire feeds on it anyway and Air is a fickle friend when used in protection spells."

"Is my room included?" Her eyes too were positively glowing with interest and Caelum smiled at her indulgently. If there was one thing they shared, it was a deep rooted love for magic.

"Of course. I'm not leaving the old man any openings if I can help it. Oh, and we need to get going to the breakfast. I assume there is going to be an announcement of some kind."

The dark haired girl grimaced and joy was gone in a flash. "Oh great. Everyone's going to know my name now."

Caelum only grinned. "That's what the Sorting Ceremony in front of the school would have been all about."

He caught the slightly confused look on Zahra's face and cocked his head to the side. "What is it?"

She shrugged. "It's just that you're so happy here. I've rarely seen you smile so much and you are… kind of giddy." She seemed more amused than confused now but Caelum felt he needed to explain some of it anyway. In one long stride he was next to her and without warning picked her up and twirled her around while laughing.

"That's because Hogwarts always was my home, Zahra," he told her softly, putting her back on her own two feet. "And it's good to be back home."

By the time the two made their way down to the Great Hall, almost everyone else had arrived and taken seats. Caelum had led Zahra through the winding corridors and tricky staircases without fail and quickly informed her in quiet tones that getting lost at Hogwarts was a given – there was simply too much space and nothing stayed put. Even the classrooms changed locations from time to time – though that usually only occurred over holidays – and the only constants in the castle were the Great Hall and the House dormitories. And the towers.

Upon arrival the mage let his eyes travel over the student body that stared back with curious eyes. He blinked to disperse the spots of light that kept creeping into his vision every time he lost concentration. The amount of magic in the air was simply too much and even Zahra shivered next to him.

"This isn't like the District," she said quietly, minding the curious ears around them. If Caelum didn't know better, his daughter might appear even _shy _on the outside.

He knew better of course.

"Those were adults, in relative control of their magic. These are youngsters in training and their magic tends to flitter around uncontrollably with their emotions. It should be slightly better with the Slytherins," he replied just as quietly.

Intrigued purple eyes turned towards the table on the far right, their green and silver ties and crests matching Zahra's uniform, even though hers was not the heavy cut that hid the body from view. No, she had got these ropes in France and only her status as a thousands years old Genie had kept Caelum's tongue in check. If she wanted to stick out from the crowd, it was her decision – though being the new Professor's daughter might have made staying under the radar a moot point.

"I'll see you at lunch."

Their eyes met in silent understanding before they parted.

Caelum had noticed Harry sitting next to Zabini but tried to keep his eyes from straying too much in his direction. He knew a certain pair of twinkling blue eyes were trained on his every move and he could not do anything to endanger Harry or the rest of his family.

"_All will be well_," Syl hissed in his ear. "_I will bite anyone who daresss to try to harm usss._"

Caelum coughed to hide his chuckles. The only reason he had allowed Syl around his torso today was because the snake had threatened to leave on his own if left alone for another day. Besides, people were bound to notice his familiars so hiding them was not an option – Parseltongue was another matter entirely.

"Professor Black," Kettleburn greeted him from the left half of the table and gestured to the empty seat next to him at the end of the table. It put Caelum the furthest from his children but one look into the twinkling blue eyes told him this was a battle not worth the fight.

It seemed Dumbledore was not taking any chances with him.

_Though he is being slightly too obvious_, Caelum pondered as he finally took his seat and let his eyes sweep over the gathered crowd. Hundreds of pairs of eyes stared back at him and had he been an empath, the projected curiosity would have no doubt drowned him. But soon the eyes turned to Dumbledore as the old man stood up and started to drone on about new beginnings, buried pasts and eventually came to the point and introduced "Professor Caelum Black and his daughter Zahra".

"Professor Black has graciously accepted the teaching position for Potions," Dumbledore informed the student body rather jovially and ignoring the rush of whispers continued, "while Professor Snape will be taking over the Defence duties. I assure you no teaching time will be lost over this… shuffle and I hope everyone will be on their best behaviour as the Professors get used to their new roles." His eyes twinkled at the gobsmacked youngsters.

Caelum's eyes met Harry's for a second before he looked away. He had noticed the sheer relief barely hidden by the emerald green and could not find amusement in the students' reaction when worry gnawed at his insides. While the faculty waited for the students to settle down, Caelum caught himself turning towards the Slytherin table at least three times without meaning to. And then he realized he had the perfect cover to be looking over there. After all, Zahra was there too.

She was sitting alone – that much was clear – even though there were other students surrounding her. Many curious glances were thrown her way but it seemed the name _Black_ invited some caution even in the Slytherin House and Caelum's mind immediately saw how she could use this to get closer to Harry. If only he knew what had upset his little counterpart so.

The question continued to bother him even as he poured himself some tea and reached for ready-cut fruit. When Kettleburn's attention was turned elsewhere, he cast the most comprehensive yet discreet detections spells on his food before deeming it safe and settling down for an uneventful morning.

His first class would be sixth year NEWT class and he had not had time to refine the lesson plans handed to him what with being busy with the warding of his quarters. Everybody's first lessons would no doubt end up being a bore this week simply because he did not have the time to really delve into the Ministry stipulations on Potions curriculum yet and even one lost lesson would be difficult to catch up to. Though it was just the beginning of term, especially NEWT students needed to know that they were expected to work hard.

Perhaps he could turn this into something of a revision session…

Soon the first bell rang and the students still lounging in the Great Hall got up in a hurry. Caelum noticed with a frown that not one of the staff had offered to help him find his way and were instead completely absorbed in their own worlds. Surely it had not been this bad when he had been schooled? Had he been any other new teacher, he would have probably wasted half of the first lesson just finding his way to the class room.

With a barely concealed sigh the mage got up and started heading for the dungeons. He made sure to take a couple of wrong turns just in case there was someone spying on him. He would not put it past Dumbledore but he was starting to suspect that this version of this version of the Headmaster was not as paranoid or up to the same level of games that Caelum had learned to expect of him. The man had the trust of a phoenix, for Merlin's sake.

He still liked to be on his guard just in case.

By the time the man reached the door he was five minutes late. He could hear the silent murmur of voices through the open door and only paused to exhale once before stepping through the doorway and wandlessly closing the door behind him.

The sudden silence was palpable.

There were six people in the classroom but the sudden silence still managed to be palpable. Caelum quickly strode to the front of the room and whirled around, letting his black eyes hold each of their curious gazes. Four Slytherins and two Ravenclaws out of thirty to forty students.

_Oh, Severus. I really have my work cut out for me, don't I?_

"I know Professor Snape welcomed you to this class two weeks ago but as the… _staff _has seen some unprecedented shuffling, let me be the second to welcome you.

"This is NEWT level Potions and I will be your teacher at least for the next ten months. My name is Caelum Black as the Headmaster introduced me during breakfast. I have Mastery level knowledge of Potions and it is my intentions to prepare you for your examinations to the best of my abilities." He levelled them with a stare when a few of them fidgeted. "With this few of you in the class, I expect excellence. I will extend an offer to those of your classmates with Exceeds Expectations in their OWLs to join you after a revision session with me during this week so the class size might grow. For now, any questions?"

The only Slytherin girl in the class raised her hand after a silent conversation with her classmates. "Why are you not teaching Defence?" she asked after Caelum nodded his permission. "I mean, it was Professor Quirrell that vanished…" she added, sneering a little at the unfortunate man's name.

"Master Snape was the only other applicant to the post and I do not believe myself fit to be teaching Defence at beginner level. I understand that this is an unnecessary complication to your studies and we will try to make the transition as smooth as possible. While Defence has experienced… varied teaching over the years, you have at least had Professor Snape's consistent methods to rely on in this subject. I do no claim to possess the expertise that he does in Potions but I am an experienced teacher and you are welcome to ask any questions or clarifications that you feel you will need to complete your NEWTs to the highest standard."

"Now, can you tell me what potions you brewed on your last lesson?"

It turned out to be the Draught of Living Death. Caelum took a look at the small stack of essays on the Professor's desk at the front of the room. All on the common mistakes done while brewing the Draught and Caelum smiled slightly when he came up with the lesson plan.

A wish of his wand had a chalk quickly writing on the board. In less than a minute the recipe for the Draught of Living Death was on view for everyone and Caelum turned uncaring eyes on his students.

"Now, spot the three mistakes in this recipe. Work alone and don't look at your book. You have five minutes."

Two of them got it right and Caelum heaved a heavy internal sigh. This did not bode well but still he went ahead with his plans.´

The next hour was an eye opening experience for him. The students were good brewers and had some background knowledge in ingredient handling. But they lacked any kind of flair and were at best only brewing straight from instructions they did not even completely understand. So when he asked them to brew the potion without the recipe – after cleaning the chalk off the board – he was met with groans.

Not one of them got it right.

"This is NEWT class," Caelum ground out. "In the examination you are expected to brew any one of the potions from the next two years without the recipe to guide you. You are meant to understand the interaction between ingredients and to be able to improve the basic formula through that understanding." He sighed. "We are brewing the Draught of Peace next class. Learn the recipe because you are not opening your books in this class for a while."

The bell released them but instead of following his students, Caelum sank heavily in the chair behind his desk, listlessly glancing through the essays. He knew his Severus had not been the best of teachers but at least the man had hammered ingredient interaction theory into their heads in first year and only allowed them to start brewing after passing the exam on basic potions theory.

This one apparently did not bother with that side of potions making. He threw children into the dangerous waters of potions making and expected them to know the currents with the experience of an age old sailor. And Caelum could not call him out on it – not if he wanted to have some sort of an amicable relationship with the man.

This wasn't enough the make him doubt his plans but he had to wonder what sort of other unwelcome changes he would come across in the future.

The overall performance did not improve with the Hufflepuff-Ravenclaw fourth years who had their double lesson with him before lunch. While some of the Ravenclaws and the odd Hufflepuff showed promise, especially with only working from the recipe, Caelum noticed that only one in the room knew how to improve on the basic formula for Blood-Replenishing Potion. And he actually had to contain two exploding cauldrons, one of which he'd only caught in time because of his wandless magic.

"Potions is precision work," he told them at the end. "When you brew, your attention cannot wander. Your hands must be focused on the task and you must be sure of your steps before you make them. Your book lists the most common mistakes in this potion – yet you still managed more than half a dozen of them. I do not expect miracles but I expect _every single one of you _to open your book and do the reading before class. I will know if you don't, and I will fail you if I even suspect your taking your Hogwarts education for granted."

Many of them had looked rather dubious at that and Caelum had recognized them as purebloods. He grinned rather savagely and had them cringing away. "I am the Head of House Black, children, and I do not give a damn about your parents. Everyone is equal in this class room and if you do not do the reading, _I will fail you._

"Dismissed."

Lunch had been an arduous affair. Caelum had the longest journey to the Great Hall from the dungeons and the rest of the staff was already seated by the time he appeared. Kettleburn had apparently had another accident – albeit a minor one – and the man was lost in thoughts of his apparent mortality, therefore not in mood for a conversation. Caelum exchanged a couple of words with Septima Vector but it was difficult talking around a mumbling colleague.

The afternoon classes with second years had been rather disappointing as Caelum had taken them through a Hair-Growth Potion. At least with them he would have time to spare a couple of lessons to theory.

All in all, this Hogwarts had not impressed him. He still felt like home here but the cold shoulder he was receiving from everyone was getting to him and there was very little he could do about it. He was a Black here, after all, and there was very little that he could about the reputation of his family.

Even Zahra had to suffer with him.

"The only person that talked to me is Draco Malfoy who immediately declared himself to be your, _and my_, cousin and proceeded to scare everyone else away. The second years have already formed their groups and they don't know what to make of me and everyone else keeps looking at me like I have horns growing from my head!" the ex-Genie practically shouted when she returned to their quarters after dinner. "And I can't even talk to Harry," she added very quietly.

"Yet," Caelum corrected with a small smile that did not reach his eyes. Why was there such a rotten atmosphere in Hogwarts? Was it just him being oversensitive or was there something else underfoot? Voldemort was gone and he should be able to enjoy his home and teaching.

"I guess we are both just a little depressed," Caelum admitted, running his hands over Zahra's glossy locks. "It's been ages since we have been around this many people and maybe we forgot how to act around them, forgot we can't trust our expectations of people we have never met before. I admit my apprehension is mostly because the classes have been so poorly taught that I want to go and hit Severus Snape. But I can't do that."

"He seemed pretty cross with me," Zahra confessed as she willing turned into Caelum's embrace and sighed deeply. "I think there's a lot of hate in him – but towards what I do not know."

"I'll talk to Harry about you two bonding in the library. It's the most neutral ground."

"He looked so tired," Zahra whispered against the fabric of Caelum's robes. "I don't know if he's okay."

oooOOOooo

"_Invisible. Silent. Pass-through._"

As soon as the Emerald was done working its magic on Caelum, the mage stepped through the portrait guarding the entrance to his quarters and took to the dark halls of the ancient castle. His eyes easily cut through the darkness and the man passed the snoring portraits with no one the wiser. Though he had never understood the portraits' need of sleep. Did they actually dream? Or was it just the enchantment that forced them to follow the same routine as the rest of the castle?

Shaking the useless thoughts out of his mind, Caelum made his way to the dungeons, and more precisely, the Slytherin Common Room.

He had not lied when he Zahra that the dorms never shifted places but everything between the Great Hall and the dorms was fair game to the magic of the castle. Caelum could feel and see it swirling around him like smoky clouds. It was not like the magic of the Forest that appeared like glowing dust particles to his Mage Sight but more like the familiar Darkness that had tried to sneak up on him in La Tanière d'Ombre. Though this magic only had miniscule traces of darkness in it. That's what happened when Dark Magic was banned for centuries.

The magic rolled on the floor, circling his feet and partly covering the walls. It was layered thickly on the portraits and doorways and presented itself in all colours imaginable that Caelum could easily see even in the darkness of the September night. And when he finally advanced deep enough into the castle for no windows to light his way, it was magic that let him see.

With his shields in perfect condition, Caelum easily slipped through the wards that guarded the entrance and he silently stepped into the familiar Common Room. The fire was burning low and the few OWL and NEWT students still up at this hour had conjured balls of light that hung in the air. Caelum cringed when he noticed his shadow dancing at his feet – that was such a rookie mistake but fortunately easily fixable.

He let his senses guide him and soon he was standing in front of the first years' door. For the first and second year Slytherins had shared dorm rooms for girls and boys but from third year up they were divided into pairs and given tables and actual wardrobes for their personal use. Caelum had never understood why it wasn't done in other Houses as well. Ravenclaw had a similar system starting fifth year when the students would be focusing on their OWLs and needed privacy for studying but both Gryffindor and Hufflepuff always used a shared dorm room through the seven years of schooling. It had been one of the things Caelum had been planning to change back when.

But he was not here to debate House sensibilities. With baited breath, the man stepped through the door and into the room Harry would be staying in for the next two years.

It seemed everyone had turned in for the night – but then again they were the youngest students in school and it was half past eleven. There were some items thrown haphazardly around the room that gave it a slightly lived in look but Caelum found where his Harry was easily. It was the only bed with a locked a trunk and a glimmering array of wards on the closed hangings.

_Could it really be this bad in Slytherin?_

Without wasting another moment Caelum strode forward. He surpassed the wards just as easily as the ones on the entrance to the Common Room and announced himself, "_Harry?"_

A wand was pointed towards his left cheek and as soon as he was fully inside the cover of the four-poster bed, he cancelled the enchantments with a thought and cast a silencing ward with a wave of his hand. And not a moment too soon because with a slightly strangled gasp Harry untangled himself from his covers and threw himself at his guardian.

Caelum wrapped his arms securely around the small body and pressed the boy against his chest. There were no tears – those were so rare coming from Harry – but the child was practically dry heaving against the mage's robes while the man rubbed circles in his back and hissed nonsense in the soothing language of serpents.

It was a good fifteen minutes until Harry calmed down. He drew in one last shuddering breath, snuggled deeper into the embrace and closed his eyes.

"I had to use my birthday dagger."

Harry's voice was only a whisper but Caelum could easily hear the words in the absolute silence the spell afforded them. He looked for a correct response but which proved to be slightly difficult since his first instinct was to go and kill whoever had threatened Harry. He started combing through the raven locks and heard the relieved sigh.

"It was okay for till the first weekend. I think they were waiting. Watching and observing. But then Dumbledore summoned me to his office and…" Harry's voice faltered and Caelum forced his fingers to relax. He cupped the boy's chin and gently lifted the green eyes to meet his.

"All that matters is that you are alright," he said with a serious tone and conviction in his eyes. Harry nodded.

"I was studying in the library on Sunday night and got back really late. I thought it was weird that almost everybody was still up but then they all turned to look at me," Harry murmured quietly, pressing closer and the man resumed combing his hair. It seemed to keep Harry calm. "I'd only really talked to Blaise from the first years. The rest were just watching me like everyone else and I remember most of their names from the list of Death Eaters and the Dark Lord's supporters you gave me. They were polite enough in the dorms but now they were on the side, staring… waiting.

"A couple of the older students left the group and blocked my way. It – they started saying… things. About me being nothing special and not fitting in Slytherin. I mean, everybody's been whispering behind my back since I got here!" the boy huffed. "They think I can't hear but I can. They're asking if Voldemort saw me as competition after all, asking if I am some sort of super Dark Lord, born evil-incarnate. There were even some in Slytherin but mostly they just seemed to resent me."

"What happened with the students?"

Harry had his face pressed against Caelum's chest again and the mage could feel him cringe.

"They shot spells at me but I put up the basic shield that you taught me. They were surprised but they got over it quickly." He hesitated. "I don't know that many battle spells yet and they take a lot more out of me than charms so I figured any chance I had against them was using the self-defence techniques you taught me.

"So while my shield still held, I threw my satchel and my robes away and got my dagger out. It was… short –and ugly. I got cut on the arm but I managed to down two of them and hold the dagger against the throat of the obvious leader. I think it was mostly due surprise again," Harry admitted while Caelum silently sent his magic out to heal whatever injuries Harry might still have. "Then I just sort of stared him down. He knew that I could have used the dagger and it would have been self-defence since there were four sixth and seventh year students against one first year. But I let him go, picked up my stuff and quietly slipped into my dorm room. Everybody was sort of frozen.

"Since then even Blaise is giving me the cold shoulder. He sits next to me but doesn't really talk. Everyone stares at me and I think they tried to get into my trunk but couldn't. I think they might try something else soon."

When it was clear Harry was done with explaining, Caelum tilted his head back again and stared into the tired eyes. Even in the darkness in the room he could see the shadows that hung low under the impressive eyes.

"You did everything right," the man stated firmly. "You defended yourself as I have taught you and I doubt you even spilled blood even though they would have deserved it. You kept a level head in a dangerous situation and didn't panic. I am very proud of how you've managed to hold yourself together after being left alone."

"I was so glad to see you today," Harry whispered as though it was some huge confession he was making.

"Me too, kid. And Zahra as well. She's looking forward to publicly making friends with you."

"Is she in the dorms?"

"She moved in this afternoon after classes. I promised to tell you to approach her in the library. It seems the second years aren't too taken with her and befriending the teacher's daughter might help with the… Slytherin situation."

He felt Harry nod and a comfortable silence fell over them. Caelum honestly thought Harry was close to falling asleep but the boy surprised him and asked, "Don't you want to know about my meeting with Dumbledore?"

He did, very badly in fact, but it could wait. "You should be sleeping, Harry. It can wait."

"It's fine. I think you need to know, anyway."

Green met black in the darkness and soon Caelum was slipping into the familiar territory of Harry's mind. The walls and shields parted before him and in no time at all he was standing in the most beautiful meadow he had ever seen. Flowers covered the ground, growing in groups and some standing alone but each unique in some way. There were a few memories whirling in the light of the twilight but Caelum instinctively knew not to touch them. They were Harry's to sort out.

"This one," the boy called from behind him and Caelum turned to see his young ward pointing to a slightly wilted looking rose that still managed to appear frozen. It was coloured Gryffindor red with a tiny flame pattern on the petals and Caelum couldn't help but notice the stem was Slytherin green.

Harry took a hold of his hand and Caelum's fingers had barely brushed against the oddly warm petals when he was sucked into the memory.

Dumbledore's office was almost exact same as the one Caelum remembered from his childhood. There was a perch for the phoenix and Harry had not taken notice of all the book titles so those were slightly fuzzy but all the revolving, spinning, puffing gadgets that Caelum remembered so well were covering the tables and the shelves. Only the air itself seemed to be twisting, Harry's emotions from that time distorting the memory. The only reason the memory was even this clear was because of Caelum and Harry's great familiarity with each other.

The memory-Harry was halfway through the room with the white bearded master manipulator sitting in his seat and looking over the rim of his glasses with twinkling eyes. Caelum was slightly surprised when he saw Severus follow the memory-Harry into the office. The air twisted some more.

"I wasn't ready to be alone with him. I figured asking my Head of House was the best option", Harry explained from where he was standing next to the mage, troubled eyes looking at his slightly younger self. "Even if he seems to dislike me a lot."

"_Harry, my boy, welcome. Please take a seat. Would you like a lemon drop?_"

"_No, thank you._"

Caelum could easily read the wariness in every movement of the boy as he took his seat and Severus came to stand at the corner of Dumbledore's desk. The arrangement reminded him of interrogations and any ideas he might have entertained about Severus being there to support Harry were thrown out the window. It seemed memory-Harry realized that too because the image of Severus Snape distorted and pulsed momentarily before settling down again as Harry's attention shifted to Dumbledore.

"_I wanted to officially welcome you back to the Wizarding World, Harry,_" the old coot said, projecting his grandfatherly mask at full power. "_I know it's only been a few days but how have you found Hogwarts?_"

Caelum saw the memory-Harry's eyes narrow momentarily and he knew no one else had missed it either. The air distorted and rippled as the emotions battled in Harry.

"_It's been alright_," the boy answered. "_The classes are interesting._"

"_Have you discovered a favourite subject yet?_" Dumbledore was smiling so benignly that even Caelum could not detect any dishonesty from him. He suspected only Harry's own experiences with the old coot prevented the young boy from falling into the trap of trusting this eccentric wizard practically projecting his honest concern.

"_I like battle magics_," Harry answered but immediately snapped his mouth shut and seemed to realize his mistake. There was only a moment's pause until he smoothly continued, "_Though Professor Quirrell seems to stutter a lot."_

"_Battle magics, you say. I don't believe I've heard of the term before. Did your carer teach you that?_"

Memory-Harry's defences went up – those that already weren't. The Dumbledore of the memory distorted and Caelum could almost feel a wave of distrust passing through him. Harry blinked and slowly answered, "_He did._"

"_I would be very interested in meeting him._" The Headmaster leaned forward in his seat. "_After all, if he is to be looking after the Boy-Who-Lived, he might appreciate some extra security_."

Memory-Harry's face was blank. "_Security, sir?_"

"_Why, of course. You must be aware of your status in the Wizarding World by now. Many of Voldemort's supporters still roam free and they might attempt to kill you. The wards at you Aunt's place deflected many such attacks while you were growing up._"

Caelum could see that Harry was slightly surprised by this approach but the kid quickly regrouped. The mage stole a glance at Severus who was still just standing there and watching the conversation between his student and the Headmaster with a blank face. He was still too distorted for Caelum to make out if he was actually Occluding.

"_Caleb is a Warding Master and he told me the wards were actually keeping me magically exhausted because my Aunt didn't give a damn about me,_" memory-Harry replied in a slightly accusing tone, his eyes staring steadily at the men before him. "_They couldn't feed off any emotion so they fed off my magic. And it took Caleb five minutes of talking to convince my relatives to give me up._"

"_My boy, I'm sure you want to believe-_"

"_I heard the entire conversation from my cupboard,_" Harry snapped. It was also the first time Caelum spied a reaction on Severus' face. The man's eyes widened and he opened his mouth as if to ask something but thought better of it and stayed silent. Harry too showed real emotion on his first time – that is, until he froze and his face blanked frighteningly mad.

"_My mind is my own,_" the kid whispered in a voice that had no right coming from someone his age. The air distorted so badly with fury that Caelum could barely make out the room in the memory. The only ones in focus were he and present Harry standing next to him.

"_It always has been and, thanks to Caleb, it always will be. You try Legilimency on me one more time and I will report you and use this _fame of mine_ that you are so concerned about to drag your name through mud,_" the Boy-Who-Lived concluded.

Dumbledore opened his mouth but closed it before he could antagonize the boy anymore. He sagged slightly and something that anyone else would have believed to be true regret showed on his face. "_I am sorry, my boy. Forgive old man his curiosity. I am simply concerned about your situation and hoped I could be of help._" He looked very sincere. "_I held you in my arms when you were but a babe and I was so very fond of your parents. We fought together and after they perished, I swore to look after you. Not knowing where you were these past few months – I was very worried, Harry._"

"_I am better with Caleb than I ever was with the Dursleys_," memory-Harry replied, and his fury had quelled somewhat. "_Besides, he expected this from you. And my parents are dead, and I grew up believing my father to be a drunk driver who got himself and his whore of a wife killed in a car accident. Caleb told me the truth no one else bothered with and he will protect me against anyone._" The kid shrugged. "_No one can find us if we don't want to be found. And Caleb's the most powerful wizard I've ever met. He bested you in a duel while holding me in his arms, didn't he?_"

Severus' head jerked up at the words and he nearly snapped to attention. For a fraction of a second his face was the picture of incredulity but it was soon smoothed over by blankness. Still, from his stance Caelum knew that Dumbledore would be in for a questioning once they wrapped this little meeting. Which Harry seemed to be doing right now.

Memory-Harry had stood up.

"_My home-life is no concern of yours. Caleb's guardianship is binding and you cannot override it. I won't accept anyone else as my guardian. If there wasn't anything else, Headmaster…_"

The memory faded around them and Caelum found himself standing in the meadow once more. Without words he reached for Harry's mental self and wrapped the boy in an embrace. They stood there for a while, the comforting silence surrounding them and invisible wind caressing their skin as stray memories whirled in the air.

"I will always protect you, Harry," Caelum swore and the boy just mutely nodded, accepting the plain truth.

* * *

A/N: Happy birthday, Merula Aeolus.


End file.
